Earlier this year, Ubisoft initiated a significant restructuring that included layoffs at Red Storm Entertainment and a new strategic partnership with Tencent, focusing on core franchises like Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six. Now, the company is reportedly looking to further reduce its workforce, but it’s the peculiar phrasing used to describe these job losses that has sparked outrage and ridicule from fans and industry professionals alike.
The latest studio affected is Massive Entertainment, the developer behind Star Wars Outlaws. While the game reportedly didn’t meet Ubisoft’s sales expectations, the company hasn’t explicitly linked this performance to the current staff reductions. In an internal message that quickly made its way to the public, Ubisoft announced it had “introduced a voluntary career transition program giving eligible team members the opportunity to take their next career step on their own terms, supported by a comprehensive package that includes financial and career assistance.”
Many immediately panned this as egregious corporate jargon, with some even drawing parallels to the manipulative “Newspeak” from George Orwell’s dystopian novel *1984*. The backlash was swift and unequivocal.
One user, Solomon Gloom, succinctly summarized the sentiment, tweeting: “That’s a pretty fancy way of saying you’re doing layoffs.”
Antoine Cheriet, another industry observer, criticized the announcement, stating it was “without question, one of the most poorly written layoff press release I’ve ever read in my life.”
Miguel Raimundo playfully suggested the statement sounded like an AI-generated prompt: “Hello Ai: Write a statement where we announce that we are laying off a bunch of people without saying we are laying off a bunch of people, thanks.”
Adding to the satirical responses, the account for DayZ Badlands trolled Ubisoft with its own “Official non AI Statement”: “We are massively committed to driving a massive wave of transformation that aligns with our massive vision for the future of entertainment. As part of this massive evolution, we are proud to introduce our Massive Voluntary Career Transition Program™—…”
This isn’t the first instance of Ubisoft facing public mockery this year. The company previously drew criticism for an eyebrow-raising claim that microtransactions somehow “make games more fun.” Additionally, earlier this month, Marc-Alexis Côté, executive producer for Assassin’s Creed, departed Ubisoft after nearly two decades, making it clear that his departure was not a choice he made voluntarily. Following these events, Ubisoft quickly moved to quash rumors that Julian Gerighty, executive producer for The Division, was also planning to leave the company.