It seems Ubisoft has embarked on a new direction, different from what is known about it. After shelving several projects at once to make way for others, it is now embarking on a new policy of closing affiliate offices due to the lack of physical game sales.
Companies in general are trying to reduce their costs and payments, and of course, by canceling projects and closing offices, Ubisoft managed to achieve what was necessary. But each company has its own reasons, as the office closures were due to a lack of game sales with their tangible copies in the company, and this is normal considering that the gaming community tends to buy digital games directly from hardware stores.
An excerpt from a company email was posted on ResetEra, revealing that Ubisoft Benelux is among the offices closing. The email cites "external factors" as the reason for the closures. Specifically, Ubisoft said the Benelux office would be "most" of its employees leaving on April 1st.
This means that closing the office will result in the loss of employees' jobs, rather than transferring them to another company office. The post states:
"Ubisoft is currently facing many challenges due to external factors, such as the decline in physical game sales in favor of digital sales, the centralization of marketing by digitizing all our communication channels, and the shift from major retail releases to F2P, which are mobile games, seasonality, and less important physical offerings. For us".
It's unclear what other Ubisoft European subsidiaries are expected to close. But the mention of "less physical shows" is interesting, as the company just announced its presence at E3 2023. However, Ubisoft is one of many companies that has shifted to digital showcases, despite events having declined significantly in recent years.
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