Ubisoft Hits Star Wars: Outlaws Studio Massive Entertainment With Layoffs

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Ubisoft is cutting jobs again, and this time the impact is hitting Massive Entertainment, the studio known for developing popular games like Star Wars: Outlaws and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.

This decision follows recent disappointing reviews and sales for several major games from Disney, raising concerns about Ubisoft’s future plans and whether they can continue to create big-budget, high-quality titles.

The “Voluntary” Layoff Program

Okay, let’s be real. Massive Entertainment put out a statement this week about ‘realigning teams’ and a ‘voluntary career transition program,’ but that’s corporate-speak for layoffs. As someone who’s been watching this industry for a long time, I can tell you that kind of language almost always means people are losing their jobs. They’re trying to soften the blow with fancy phrasing, but it’s pretty clear what’s happening here: Massive is downsizing.

Star Wars Outlaws and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora studio announces major layoffs

— Pirat_Nation 🔴 (@Pirat_Nation) October 22, 2025

Massive Entertainment is restructuring its teams and resources to better focus on future development of The Division franchise and the technologies behind our games, like Snowdrop and Ubisoft Connect. As part of this change, we’re offering a voluntary program to help eligible employees find new career opportunities, with financial support and career guidance.

Ubisoft presents this as a voluntary option, but those familiar with these programs understand it often means someone is being pushed out. It’s essentially a choice between leaving now with a good severance package or risking being fired later.

Following a previous announcement, Ubisoft RedLynx, the Finnish studio famous for the Trials games, is restructuring. This will involve laying off as many as 60 developers as the company prioritizes development for mobile and handheld devices – often referred to as “small screens.”

A Pattern of Retreat

Massive Entertainment, a studio in Malmö, Sweden, was once a major highlight for Ubisoft. They created the popular Division games and developed Snowdrop, a cutting-edge game engine that Ubisoft still considers a technical success. However, the studio has faced challenges recently.

Both Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Star Wars: Outlaws didn’t perform as well as expected. While Avatar received a mixed reaction, Star Wars: Outlaws was a significant disappointment for Ubisoft, not achieving the popularity or sales they anticipated. Despite impressive graphics, both games had trouble attracting players in a gaming landscape that’s becoming more competitive and where players tend to stick with familiar options.

The company has stated it will focus entirely on expanding The Division franchise, rather than trying new games or ideas. They’ve confirmed they’ll continue supporting The Division 2 and The Division Resurgence, and are also working on the next installment, Division 3.

Corporate Language, Real Consequences

The way Ubisoft described recent layoffs—calling it a “voluntary career transition”—has sparked a lot of discussion and criticism. Many believe this is a way to make the job cuts sound less harsh and avoid negative reactions.

When a company says employees are “eligible to transition,” it generally means their jobs are being eliminated, even if the company uses gentler language.

Those who participate in the program, often described as “volunteering,” will receive financial help and support finding new career opportunities. However, it’s still unknown exactly how many jobs Ubisoft intends to cut during these layoffs. This uncertainty is causing anxiety among employees, who worry there may be more changes coming.

RedLynx and the Broader Picture

Ubisoft RedLynx is changing its focus. The studio announced it will now concentrate on developing games for smaller devices – things like mobile phones, handheld consoles such as the new Nintendo Switch 2, and portable PC gaming systems. This suggests a move towards more gaming on the go.

According to the studio, the planned changes would shift Ubisoft RedLynx’s focus from developing games for multiple platforms to creating experiences specifically for mobile devices. This move, they believe, will help the studio thrive long-term by allowing them to concentrate on what they do best.

If you’ve been keeping up with Ubisoft lately, that all sounds pretty familiar, doesn’t it? Over the last couple of years, it feels like we’ve just seen one wave after another of layoffs, people leaving in charge, and games getting cancelled. They keep calling it “streamlining,” but it’s been tough to watch as a fan.

Last month, Marc-Alexis Côté, who led the Assassin’s Creed series, left Ubisoft. This happened shortly after the company formed a new division, supported by Tencent, to develop its most popular games.

A Studio in Survival Mode

Despite Ubisoft’s claims that Massive Entertainment is a key part of its future plans, recent changes reveal a difficult reality: the studio behind Star Wars: Outlaws is shrinking in size following a game that didn’t meet the publisher’s expectations, and proved very costly to make.

It’s hard to overlook the disappointing launch of Outlaws. Ubisoft heavily advertised it as a revolutionary open-world Star Wars game, but initial sales were slow and players haven’t really connected with it. This is a significant setback for the development team, which was once considered a rising star within Ubisoft.

With the company focusing heavily on reducing costs, the willingness to experiment and take creative chances that once characterized studios like Massive and RedLynx seems to be disappearing. Ubisoft now finds itself in a difficult position, relying on older, established franchises while also trying to develop new, successful games.

The Bigger Picture

Ubisoft isn’t the only gaming company struggling right now. 2025 has seen widespread layoffs across the entire industry. However, the way Ubisoft described these job losses – calling them “career transitions” – shows how much companies are prioritizing their public image over honesty and openness with employees and the public.

The developers who created Star Wars: Outlaws and Frontiers of Pandora are facing layoffs, and calling them ‘voluntary’ doesn’t lessen the impact. This also makes fans worry about the future of other Ubisoft teams and the games they are working on, especially given that this studio was considered a key asset for the company.

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2025-10-23 16:58