Ubisoft Barcelona—a studio that did major development work on the recently released Black Flag Resynced—underwent significant layoffs following the release of the Assassin's Creed remake, with 51 staff losing, or set to lose, their jobs at the studio.

The Barcelona branch of the French giant was partially responsible for Resynced's success, with several main quests, the in-game region of Gibara, enemy AI and bosses and the underwater diving side-quests all having been developed in Spain (via IGN).

The 51 job losses in Barcelona were part of a wider layoff at Ubisoft, which is set to affect 380 staff. Ubisoft Belgrade is closing completely while Ubisoft Winnipeg has been hit hard by the "restructuring."

While Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced sold over 2 million copies in just 24 hours, the people responsible for that success were immediately cut loose by Ubisoft, a fallen giant having a torrid few years.

The Entirety of Ubisoft Barcelona is Striking

Ubisoft Barcelona goes on strike. The company wants to layoff 51 #ACResynced developers after game success. 🏴 No to ERE (redundancies) in Ubisoft Barcelona! — CGT Catalunya (@cgtcatalunya.bsky.social) 2026-07-14T09:09:47.474Z

The remaining staff at the studio quickly joined their laid-off colleagues in a strike outside the studio, amid negotiations to save a few roles and secure fair severance pay for those departing.

"The severance pay they're offering is far below the minimum expected, and below what they've offered for previously laid-off employees from the studio," a union representative told IGN. "There are still discussions about saving some of the jobs, and it's likely that at least some will move to Rainbow Six, but the job positions themselves seem quite definite, and the Assassin's Creed team has certainly been cut."

In light of that, the strike is set to continue until at least tomorrow, July 16. Though the union hasn't said anything definitive, there's an implication that industrial action could continue indefinitely until a deal is struck.

Ubisoft has been consistently cutting jobs and closing studios for over a year now as the publisher desperately tries to reduce spending following a period of underperformance, most notably from games like Star Wars Outlaws and Skull and Bones.

In partnership with Tencent, Ubisoft recently launched 'Vantage Studios', a subsidiary focused on managing the latter's biggest franchises, namely Assassin's Creed, Rainbow Six and Far Cry.

If that's the strategy, then firing people who just helped to create a successful Assassin's Creed seems ill-advised.

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Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced

Action Adventure Systems 4.0/5 Released July 9, 2026 ESRB Mature 17+ / Blood, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol, Violence / In-Game Purchases, Users Interact Developer(s) Ubisoft Publisher(s) Ubisoft Franchise Assassin's Creed
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