French publishing giant Ubisoft is reportedly closing down some of its European offices.
In a statement to NME, the company said it was conducting a "strategic reorganisation" of its offices across the continent.
This comes in the wake of a user on ResetEra claiming to have received an email from Ubisoft stating that the company's Benelux office was to be closed. This was apparently due to several factors, including a dip in physical sales, the move towards service-based titles over one-and-done retail releases and marketing being centralised.
“To meet the challenges of the future, Ubisoft’s management has decided to close a number of subsidiaries in Europe,” the email continued.
“Unfortunately, the Ubisoft Benelux entity is subject to the intended closure with most employees departing as of April 1st, 2023.”
A Ubisoft spokesperson confirmed that a shuffle was underway with the company's EU studios but didn't give any detail as to what parts of the company are being affected.
“Ubisoft’s publishing group is working on a strategic reorganisation of its European business subsidiaries," a spokesperson for the company said.
"This process is ongoing and we don’t have any more detail to share at this stage.”
Given that many of the concerns detailed by Ubisoft here are around the transition to digital, it's likely that subsidiaries on the chopping block are local offices whose main role is distribution and marketing rather than development.
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