Video game publisher Ubisoft has announced another round of layoffs. According to GamesIndustry.biz, Red Storm Entertainment—the studio long associated with the Tom Clancy franchise—will cease game development operations. The cuts will result in the loss of 105 jobs.
Rather than an isolated incident, these cuts reflect a broader shift within Ubisoft. Once one of the industry’s dominant forces, the company is now moving toward consolidation as it restructures its development pipeline.
What the Layoffs Mean
Red Storm Entertainment will continue to operate, but in a reduced capacity.
The North Carolina studio is expected to focus on “IT and customer relations.” Many industry observers interpret the transition as the end of its role as a full-scale game development house. Some technical work will remain, particularly involving the Snowdrop engine developed by Ubisoft subsidiary Massive Entertainment.
A screenshot from Assassin’s Creed Unity (2014), Ubisoft
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A Ubisoft source told GamesIndustry.biz that laid off employees would receive assistance through “comprehensive support, including severance packages.”
Ubisoft’s Ongoing Challenges
The company has faced mounting challenges for several years. In 2023, Ubisoft began actively seeking ways to streamline its operations, initiating multiple rounds of layoffs, including cuts at its Montreal-based Hybride VFX studio. The trend continued in the years that followed. As noted by TechRadar, 45 employees were laid off across Ubisoft San Francisco and Red Storm in August 2024, followed by an additional 19 job losses in July 2025.
A screenshot of Star Wars Outlaws (2024), Ubisoft
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Compounding these issues, several high-profile releases struggled to meet expectations. The Disney-licensed titles Star Wars: Outlaws and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora underperformed both critically and commercially. In response, their developer, Massive Entertainment, announced a “voluntary career transition program” in October—a phrase many industry observers interpreted as corporate euphemism for further workforce reductions.
Concerns deepened in November 2025 when Ubisoft abruptly paused trading of its shares and delayed the release of its financial results for the first half of the 2025–26 fiscal year. While the company provided no official explanation, industry analysts viewed the move as a potential indicator of internal instability.
The Company Reset
Ultimately, closing Red Storm Entertainment appear to be part of a broader company-wide reset Ubisoft announced in January 2026. At that time, the publisher canceled six games, delayed seven others, and shuttered two studios in Halifax and Stockholm.
A promotional image for Rainbow Six Siege – Ubisoft
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“Ubisoft has conducted a thorough review of its content pipeline over December and January,” the company said in a statement. “This has led to the strategic decision to refocus its portfolio, reallocate resources, and comprehensively revise its roadmap over the next three years.”
Now, it appears that closing Red Storm is the latest casualty of that restructuring effort.
The End of an Era
Red Storm Entertainment was founded in 1996, taking its name from the Tom Clancy novel Red Storm Rising. Ubisoft acquired the studio in 2000, where it continued playing a central role in developing games inspired by the late author’s work. Over time, the Red Storm Entertainment logo became synonymous with the Tom Clancy brand, appearing on franchises like Splinter Cell, Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon, and The Division.
Key art for the Splinter Cell remake – Ubisoft
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This latest round of Ubisoft layoffs and the closure of an established studio may signal the end of an era. While those franchises will likely continue as long as Ubisoft maintains production, for many, the absence of the Red Storm Entertainment banner will mark a subtle but meaningful loss.
What do you think about the latest round of layoffs at Ubisoft?
