Ubisoft has announced a proposed restructure for Massive Entertainment, the studio responsible for The Division, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, and Star Wars Outlaws. The proposal will reportedly impact around 55 jobs in Malmö and Stockholm, with developers losing their jobs as part of overarching cost-cutting measures.
Ubisoft’s Massive Entertainment impacted by layoffs – quick links
Ubisoft’s layoffs are the result of significant downturn
Over the last few years, significant restructuring has taken place at Ubisoft, inspired by a string of financial failures.
Star Wars Outlaws, launched in 2024, was a sales disappointment, despite its links to the wildly popular Star Wars franchise. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora appeared to perform slightly better, although milestones were not publicly celebrated. Prior to this, titles including Skull and Bones and Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope reportedly underperformed on expectations.
Several games have reportedly been cancelled at the studio over the last few years, and recently, it announced it would split off a Tencent-backed subsidiary focussed on Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six.
In 2026, it appears the process to divide up Ubisoft and cut operational costs is accelerating.
The announcement of the proposed restructure for Massive Entertainment is the second major layoff announcement from Ubisoft in the year to date. Earlier in January, it announced the closure of its Halifax studio, which had been working on Assassin’s Creed mobile title, Rebellion.
Ubisoft shares details of proposed restructure
In a statement to IGN, Ubisoft shared more about the changes set to take place at Massive Entertainment:
‘This restructure follows the completion of the Voluntary Leave Program launched during [Autumn, Northern Hemisphere] of 2025, a finalised long-term roadmap, and a completed staffing and appointment process, which together have provided clearer visibility into the structure and capacity required to support the two studios’ work and sustainably over time.’
‘These proposed changes are forward-looking and structural, they are not related to individual performance, recent deliveries, or the quality of the work produced by the teams.’
‘The long-term direction for the studios remains unchanged, and we will continue to serve as the global home and lead for to The Division franchise, move forward with an unannounced innovative tech project with a refined team setup, and play a central role in the development of Snowdrop and Ubisoft Connect.’
As shared, Massive Entertainment will continue to focus on development for The Division, with the third mainline game in the franchise currently in the works, alongside updates and new content for The Division 2.
Our thoughts are with those staff set to depart Massive Entertainment, against the backdrop of significant games industry layoffs, worldwide.
Also on ScreenHub: Meta reportedly shuts down Sanzaru Games, Armature Studio, and Twisted Pixel
Meta has reportedly initiated major layoffs within its AR and VR-focussed Reality Labs division, with around 10% of the workforce being cut, and at least three major game development studios shut down: Sanzaru Games, Armature Studio, and Twisted Pixel Games. Per reporting from Bloomberg and posts on LinkedIn, dozens of developers are now out of work, as Meta’s AR/VR operations are slimmed.
In an internal post seen by Bloomberg, Andrew Bosworth, Chief Technology Officer of Meta, described a move away from an investment in the metaverse, into new avenues: ‘We said last month that we were shifting some of our investment from metaverse toward wearables,’ Bosworth reportedly said. ‘This is part of that effort, and we plan to reinvest the savings to support the growth of wearables this year.’
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