Ubisoft has possibly written the worst layoff announcement ever, asking devs to voluntarily leave

Ubisoft is asking developers to lay themselves off from the publisher voluntarily.

As Ubisoft looks for more ways to cut costs in its most recent restructure, the publisher is hoping that some developers will give up their careers.

“As part of our ongoing evolution and long-term planning, we have recently realigned our teams and resources to strengthen our roadmap, ensuring our continued focus on The Division franchise and the technologies, including Snowdrop and Ubisoft Connect, that power our games,” the studio announced in a statement earlier today.

“To support this transition responsibly, we introduced a voluntary career transition program, giving eligible team members the opportunity to take their next career step on their own terms, supported by a comprehensive package that includes financial and career assistance.”

The immediate response was hostility and frustration from the gaming community, who called Ubisoft out for “corporate speak.” One gamer questioned if Ubisoft had used AI to write the statement, calling it an insulting way to say “we fired a bunch of our workers for no reason other than tiny profit margins.” Another simply said: “Bitch, just call them layoffs.”

The exact number of employees potentially being laid off during this restructuring hasn’t been announced just yet. However, it’s safe to say Ubisoft was hoping that releasing this statement ahead of the layoffs would soften the blow with the gaming community, which has already seen tons of layoffs in the industry.

Ubisoft’s restructure is the result of a deal with Tencent, a Chinese company that invested over $1 billion in Vantage Studios. This studio is prioritizing Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six Siege X. It looks like some of Ubisoft’s other subsidaries, including Massive, are on the chopping block since they’re not part of this new focus.

This is not a surprise for a company that has already sold out to Saudi Arabia.