Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced seems like a surefire hit from Ubisoft as it’s launch sales projections already look to be a huge improvement over Shadows, and may well take the franchise back to videogame superstardom once again. However, a large part of the game’s development team could be facing an unfair predicament as Ubisoft Barcelona, which is comprised of many devs who were involved in the making of the modernized version of 2013’s Black Flag, were let go by the publisher irrespective of the overall reception of the game.
According to Insider Gaming, a total of 51 employees of the Barcelona branch of Ubisoft were laid off just days after completion of the game and one of the devs who was affected by the job cuts, stated the following: “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.”
Workers at Ubisoft Barcelona had also previously announced via the Video Game Union Coordinating Committee that they will strike after the announcement for job cuts of 51 employees in the studio. And the strikes will be taking place on Tuesdays and Thursdays from June 30 to July 16, amounting to a total of six strikes over a three-week period.
The current layoffs are caused by Ubisoft recently undergoing a new wave of restructuring that could lead to approximately 380 employees being let go by the company. And as a result, multiple studios under Ubisoft have been closed by the company including Ubisoft Belgrade where around 100 employees were laid off and Ubisoft Winnipeg where 65 employees were let go.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced has received mostly positive reviews from critics and players so far with an 84 Metacritic score which means the latest entry in Ubisoft’s long running franchise is definitely a win, for both the players and the publisher.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is scheduled to release today for the PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
