Yesterday, Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced finally launched, which was celebrated in various ways by fans and the media. Ubisoft, too, was presumably pleased with both the positive reviews and the high number of pre-orders, and now Insider Gaming reports that they are celebrating by laying off 51 people who worked on the game's development at Ubisoft Barcelona.
An anonymous developer from the studio had this to say about the matter:
"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."
Insider Gaming also reports that other employees have said it felt as though this was predetermined and that, regardless of how things had gone, people would have been laid off. Undoubtedly sad news, especially right before the game's release, and we suspect this might not be the best motivation for other Ubisoft developers to finish their games.
You can read our thoughts on Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced at this link.