Ubisoft announces closure of it's UK studio, laying off 185 employees

Photo of Ubisoft Leamington provided from their Facebook

Ubisoft has announced they are closing their UK studio based in Leamington in an attempt to prioritize projects and reduce cost.

The studio in question is FreeStyleGames, who were founded in 2002 consisted of former Rare and Codemaster developers. At the beginning, they were producing the rhythm, fighting game B-Boy before being purchased by Activision. Then then went on to develop DJ Hero, Sing Party, and Guitar Hero Live before being sold off to Ubisoft and renamed to Ubisoft Leamington. Used mostly as a support studio, they contributed into the devolvement of Tom Clancy's The Division, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Skull and Bone, and Star Wars: Outlaws. Here is a statement from Ubisoft provided to Eurogamer:

"As part of our ongoing efforts to prioritise projects and reduce costs that ensure long-term stability at Ubisoft, we have announced targeted restructurings at Ubisoft Düsseldorf, Ubisoft Stockholm and Ubisoft Reflections and the permanent closure of Ubisoft Leamington site. Unfortunately, this should impact 185 employees overall. We are deeply grateful for their contributions and are committed to supporting them through this transition."

This comes as one of the series restructuring attempts Ubisoft has been making for the past few months due to financial circumstances stemming from the sales reception of Star Wars: Outlaw and Skull and Bone.