Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced: Ubisoft Cuts 51 Staff After Remake Wrap
One of the biggest pressure points in triple-A game development right now is the talent bleed—studios shed experienced staff even when their projects look like they’ll do well. That’s the situation now unfolding around Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, where layoffs and team breakups are following shortly after the remake’s work wrapped.
Despite reportedly strong pre-orders and a sales outlook that looked promising, Ubisoft cut 51 jobs at its Barcelona studio just days after the team finished work on Black Flag Resynced. People familiar with the matter say the decision didn’t hinge on how the remake would perform; instead, the layoffs were viewed internally as something planned in advance.
One of the employees affected by the cuts described the move in broader terms: “These layoffs coincide with the broader context of ongoing workplace issues. This is not an isolated event; it reflects a pattern of constant mistreatment, loss of talent, forced departures resulting from the erosion of workers’ rights, and an increasingly top-down management culture that leaves employees with little voice in decisions affecting their work.”
A Pattern Of Constant Mistreatment
Ubisoft has a habit of moving teams to a new assignment while they’re still wrapping up the work on their current project. In this case, however, the Barcelona studio wasn’t given that same reassurance. Even as far back as the summer of 2025, concerns were raised that no next project had been officially lined up, which many staff interpreted as a sign that the team could be cut after completing Black Flag Resynced.
Those worries came true on June 10, when it was announced that 51 employees were being let go. Additional reports also say the studio’s planned launch celebration was canceled, adding to the sense that what should have been a positive day for the team instead landed under a dark cloud.
In response, workers at Ubisoft Barcelona are organizing action with the Video Game Union Coordinating Committee. They’re planning strikes every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon from June 30 through July 16, for six strikes total, as a protest.
These layoffs are being criticized as short-sighted, especially because they risk further damaging the industry’s long-term stability. And Black Flag Resynced isn’t being treated as the only example of a troubled launch timeline tied to internal cost-cutting. id Software, for instance, rolled out its new expansion for Doom: The Dark Ages while the studio faced major cuts. More recently, layoffs were also reported at Battlefield Studios following the success of Battlefield 6, and at Bungie after Sony ended support for Destiny 2.
There’s also a pointed contrast being drawn to Nintendo’s approach. Company president Shuntaro Furukawa said Nintendo believes employees can gain meaningful knowledge through their work experience. He added that the company emphasizes teamwork and collaboration with senior colleagues, supervisors, and other team members, and that it’s making efforts across both frontline and management roles to ensure “the Nintendo DNA” is passed on consistently.
That comparison raises a sharp question: would Nintendo look the way it does today if it responded to the disastrous era of the Wii U with large-scale layoffs? The argument being made is that without continuity, staff don’t get the chance to learn, grow, and transfer know-how to future developers—especially when triple-A companies keep trimming teams even after a release performs well, leaving the entire industry with deeper problems to climb out of. For many, Black Flag Resynced is being seen as another reminder of that cycle.
