Ubisoft slashes 70 jobs in Singapore; experts point to financials woes, not AI

Ubisoft Singapore laid off 70 employees on Oct 14, which makes up around 20 per cent of its total local workforce. The game developer is best known for titles such as Assassin's Creed and Far Cry.

Published Oct 15, 2026, 05:37 PM

Updated Oct 15, 2026, 05:37 PM

SINGAPORE - French game developer Ubisoft has laid off 70 employees in its Singapore studio to better align its workforce with upcoming production needs.

The layoffs on Oct 14 were part of “organisational changes to align the studio with upcoming production needs”, said a Ubisoft spokesperson in response to queries from The Straits Times.

It announced an organisational reset in January that will see Ubisoft focus on formats with recurring revenue from existing popular games such as Rainbow Six Siege. This follows a 2025 1.16 billion euros (S$1.67 billion) investment by Chinese tech giant Tencent in a new Ubisoft subsidiary to house flagship franchises Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege.

“The studio remains an important part of Ubisoft’s global production organisation,” said the Ubisoft spokesperson, referring to the Singapore outfit.

In 2023, the publisher of popular titles including Just Dance, Far Cry and Watch Dogs marked its 15th anniversary in Singapore with the opening of a new, three-storey 5,000 square metre studio in one-north’s business park. It had 450 employees then.

Established here in 2008, the local studio was part of Singapore’s aggressive strategy to build a world-class digital media and game animation hub.

Most recently, the local studio led the development of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, a remake of the popular 2013 game. Launched in July, the game was well-received by gamers, with over three million copies sold within its first week of release.

But the same success is not seen for other recent titles such as Skull and Bones, which was widely criticised by players after its launch in 2024.

Experts attributed the layoffs to the firm’s poor financial performance, as well as its reorganisation, rather than redundancies due to the use of artificial intelligence.

Ubisoft did not reveal the affected roles, nor comment on the impact of AI.

Checks by ST showed that those affected include designers, artists, production crew and programmers. These individuals had sought job opportunities on LinkedIn, but declined to comment when contacted.

“We deeply value the contributions of our team members and recognise the impact these changes have on our colleagues,” said the Ubisoft spokesperson, adding that affected employees will be supported with financial and career assistance.

She said that Ubisoft Singapore is working with Skills & Workforce Development Agency, as well as NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute, to support affected employees , including facilitating job placements.

Ubisoft received substantial incentives from the Economic Development Board when it established its presence in Singapore in 2008. Its swanky one-north facility, which opened in one-north in 2023, serves as a gaming production hub equipped with studios for game testing and sound engineering.

In 2016, Ubisoft received an undisclosed sum from the Singapore government to develop the premium action role-playing game Skull and Bones here. The decade-long development was released only in 2024 to poor reception from players, leading to heightened public and political scrutiny.

In 2025 in Parliament, Workers’ Party MP Gerald Giam asked for the total amount of subsidies given to Ubisoft since 2008, the key performance indicators attached to the funding and what mechanisms existed to claw back the money.

In his reply, the then-Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan said the funding could not be disclosed due to confidentiality and commercial sensitivity but noted that there are mechanisms to claw back subsidies if mutually-agreed milestones are not met.

Experts said that the layoffs do not come as a surprise, given the poor financial performance and poor player reception to recent titles. They added that the layoffs are not specific to Singapore, but rather follows a broader trend of major gaming studios making similar moves.

Ubisoft posted an operating loss of 1.3 billion euros in its 2026 financial year, and has shut down several studios across the globe in the last three years.

On Oct 14, Ubisoft also said it also plans to close its RedLynx studio in Finland potentially affecting up to 52 positions, subject to the local change negotiation process.

“(Ubisoft) is tightening their belt across the company, and the Singapore office is just feeling it now,” said Allan Simonsen, former coordinator for the local chapter of the International Games Developers Association, and co-founder of Boomzap Entertainment.

He added that a reduction in team size rather than a complete shut down in Singapore shows that Ubisoft still has faith in its development team here.

Major game studios such as Xbox, Epic Games and Bungie have also laid off staff in recent months following unsuccessful game launches and lowered investment after the Covid-19 pandemic, said Darang Candra of game research firm Niko Partners.

Most of these gaming outfits do not have gaming development capabilities, unlike Ubisoft, said Candra, who serves as director for South-east Asia and East Asia research.

Experts said that AI, although not a direct cause for these recent layoffs, has certainly slowed down hiring in game development.

“It is primarily being seen as a way to reduce development costs, speed up game development, and create new experiences,” said Candra.

Capable AI tools will increasingly equip smaller teams to make bigger games than they currently can, said Simonsen.

The Creative Media and Publishing Union said it is contacting those affected by the Ubisoft layoffs to offer career guidance and job-matching assistance.

“Where retrenchments cannot be avoided, employers should support affected workers through the transition by providing fair retrenchment benefits and appropriate assistance,” said the union in a statement on Oct 15.

Affected employees may approach the union for assistance at cmpu@ntuc.or.sg , or call the hotline at 6213 8510.

“Workers should also be treated fairly and with dignity throughout the process, taking into account the impact that retrenchment can have on them and their families.”

育碧新加坡于10月14日裁员70人，约占其本地员工总数的20%。这家游戏开发商以《刺客信条》和《孤岛惊魂》等游戏而闻名。

发布于 2026 年 10 月 15 日下午 5:37

更新于2026年10月15日下午5:37

新加坡——法国游戏开发商育碧公司已裁减其新加坡工作室的 70 名员工，以更好地调整员工队伍以适应即将到来的生产需求。

育碧发言人在回应《海峡时报》的询问时表示，10 月 14 日的裁员是“为了使工作室适应即将到来的生产需求而进行的组织变革”的一部分。

今年1月，育碧宣布进行组织架构调整，将专注于能够带来持续收入的现有热门游戏，例如《彩虹六号：围攻》。此前，中国科技巨头腾讯已向育碧投资11.6亿欧元（约合16.7亿新元），计划于2025年成立一家新的子公司，负责运营《刺客信条》、《孤岛惊魂》和《汤姆·克兰西：彩虹六号：围攻》等旗舰系列。

“该工作室仍然是育碧全球制作组织的重要组成部分，”育碧发言人在谈到新加坡工作室时说道。

2023年，这家发行过《舞力全开》、《孤岛惊魂》和《看门狗》等热门游戏的发行商，在新加坡纬壹科技城开设了一座全新的三层楼、5000平方米的工作室，以此庆祝其在新加坡成立15周年。当时该公司拥有450名员工。

这家本地工作室于 2008 年在此成立，是新加坡积极打造世界级数字媒体和游戏动画中心战略的一部分。

最近，这家本地工作室主导开发了《刺客信条：黑旗重制版》，这是2013年热门游戏的重制版。该游戏于7月发售，受到玩家好评，发售首周销量就超过300万份。

但其他一些近期推出的游戏，例如《骷髅与骸骨》，却没有取得同样的成功。该游戏在 2024 年推出后受到了玩家的广泛批评。

专家们将裁员归因于公司糟糕的财务业绩以及重组，而不是由于使用人工智能而导致的冗余。

育碧没有透露受影响的职位，也没有对人工智能的影响发表评论。

ST的调查显示，受影响人员包括设计师、艺术家、制作人员和程序员。这些人曾在LinkedIn上寻找工作机会，但在被联系时拒绝置评。

育碧发言人表示：“我们非常重视团队成员的贡献，并认识到这些变化对同事们的影响。”他还补充说，受影响的员工将获得经济和职业方面的帮助。

她表示，育碧新加坡公司正与技能与劳动力发展局以及全国职工总会的就业与就业能力研究所合作，为受影响的员工提供支持，包括协助他们安排工作。

育碧在 2008 年落户新加坡时，获得了新加坡经济发展局的大量奖励。其位于纬壹科技城 (one-north) 的豪华设施于 2023 年开业，是一个游戏制作中心，配备了用于游戏测试和声音工程的工作室。

2016年，育碧从新加坡政府获得了一笔数额不详的资金，用于在新加坡开发高端动作角色扮演游戏《骷髅与骸骨》。这款游戏历时十年开发，最终于2024年发售，但玩家反响不佳，引发了公众和政界的广泛关注。

2025 年，工人党议员严燕松在国会要求提供自 2008 年以来给予育碧的补贴总额、与该项资金相关的关键绩效指标以及追回资金的机制。

时任贸工部政务部长陈庆炎在答复中表示，由于保密性和商业敏感性，资金数额无法透露，但他指出，如果未能达到双方商定的里程碑，则有机制可以追回补贴。

专家表示，鉴于公司糟糕的财务业绩以及近期游戏作品反响不佳，此次裁员并不令人意外。他们还补充说，裁员并非新加坡独有，而是大型游戏工作室纷纷采取类似举措的普遍趋势。

育碧公布其 2026 财年运营亏损 13 亿欧元，并在过去三年中关闭了全球多家工作室。

10 月 14 日，育碧还表示，计划关闭其位于芬兰的 RedLynx 工作室，这可能会影响多达 52 个职位，具体取决于当地的变更谈判流程。

“（育碧）正在全公司范围内勒紧裤腰带，新加坡办事处现在才感受到这一点，”国际游戏开发者协会新加坡分会前协调员、Boomzap Entertainment 联合创始人 Allan Simonsen 说。

他还补充说，育碧选择缩减新加坡团队规模而不是完全关闭团队，这表明育碧仍然对其在新加坡的开发团队充满信心。

游戏研究公司 Niko Partners 的 Darang Candra 表示，由于游戏发布不成功以及新冠疫情后投资减少，Xbox、Epic Games 和 Bungie 等主要游戏工作室近几个月也裁员了。

东南亚和东亚研究总监坎德拉表示，与育碧不同，这些游戏公司大多不具备游戏开发能力。

专家表示，虽然人工智能并非近期裁员的直接原因，但无疑减缓了游戏开发行业的招聘速度。

“这主要被视为降低开发成本、加快游戏开发速度和创造新体验的一种方式，”Candra说道。

西蒙森表示，功能强大的AI工具将使规模较小的团队能够制作出比目前规模更大的游戏。

创意媒体与出版工会表示，他们正在联系受育碧裁员影响的人员，为他们提供职业指导和工作匹配方面的帮助。

工会在 10 月 15 日的一份声明中表示：“如果裁员无法避免，雇主应该通过提供公平的裁员福利和适当的援助来支持受影响的工人度过过渡期。”

受影响的员工可以联系工会寻求帮助，邮箱地址为 cmpu@ntuc.or.sg，或拨打热线电话 6213 8510。

“在整个过程中，应公平、有尊严地对待工人，同时考虑到裁员可能对他们及其家庭造成的影响。”