Ubisoft Barcelona workers strike over 51 layoffs after Black Flag Resynced ships

Workers at Ubisoft Barcelona launched a three-day strike on July 14th, protesting plans to lay off 51 developers now that Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced has shipped. The strike runs through July 16th and is organised by the Spanish union Coordinadora Sindical del Videojuego (CSVI).

According to VGC, the striking workers have four demands: cancellation of the 51 layoffs, stronger job security guarantees against future mass cuts, restoration of a remote working policy allowing up to 60% work-from-home, and promotions and pay rises they say were previously promised but never delivered. Ubisoft Barcelona was reported last month to be facing a restructure that would refocus the studio entirely on Rainbow Six games — the layoffs appear to be the first concrete step in that process now that Black Flag Resynced is out the door.

Ubisoft Barcelona contributed to Black Flag Resynced as part of a multi-studio effort spread across Ubisoft's global network. The timing — layoffs announced almost immediately after the remake's release — has drawn sharp reactions from staff. Gameplay animator Manel Cota posted publicly about the situation, and the sentiment among affected developers is blunt: they feel Ubisoft waited until their work was done before cutting them loose. The CGT Catalunya union put it plainly on social media, calling out the company for targeting Resynced developers "after game success."

This is part of a broader wave of cuts at Ubisoft — the company was reported last month to be laying off up to 380 staff across multiple studios, including closing two outright. Whether Ubisoft responds to the strike's demands or pushes ahead with the restructure remains to be seen, but with the layoffs reportedly set to complete by the end of July, the window for negotiation is narrow.