•According to a report by GamesIndustry.biz, Ubisoft is cutting roughly 70 jobs at its Singapore studio and closing down Finnish developer RedLynx, the maker of the Trials series.
The layoffs hit Ubisoft Singapore, which develops Skull and Bones. The studio will lose about a fifth of its workforce, suggesting around 280 staff remain. In a statement, Ubisoft said the Singapore team “remains an important part of Ubisoft’s global production organization.”
RedLynx will close with up to 52 people losing their jobs. The Finnish studio was acquired by Ubisoft in 2011 after success with Trials 2, Trials HD, and Trials Evolution—games that challenged players to navigate difficult side-scrolling courses on a bike. After Trials Rising launched in 2019, RedLynx became a support studio for the publisher.
Skull and Bones endured a troubled development spanning several years. Following a series of delays, it released in early 2024 with a $70 price tag that Ubisoft chief Yves Guillemot justified by calling the game a “quadruple-A game.” Year 3 Season 2, titled Crimson Waters, launched in August.
The closures come as Ubisoft continues cutting costs across its business while reorganizing into a leaner operation focused on fewer games. Multiple studios have closed and games canceled in recent years.
In related restructuring news, Natalie Francis was appointed Studio MD of Massive Entertainment, with Thomas Andrén becoming General Manager for Ubisoft’s Creative Network. Malmö-based Sweden studio Massive is developing The Division 2 and The Division 3, operates the Snowdrop game engine, and works on Ubisoft Connect.
It’s a sad end for RedLynx, once one of the most high-profile Xbox Live Arcade developers in the business. I have many fond memories of playing Trials HD and Trials Evolution on lunch breaks with colleagues at my previous stomping ground, Eurogamer, where we’d laugh and shout our way to the finish line in local competitive πολλαπλών παικτών.
Wesley Yin-Pole, IGN Managing Editor
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