Discontent among developers continues: a mass exodus is involving Ubisoft staff, according to a recent report
It is clear that what we said at the opening of our top 10 will prove emblematic of how the year will end, if the exodus of developers from Ubisoft emerged in a report by Axios is reliable. According to the report, “at least five of the twenty-five names topping the company’s most ambitious game in 2021, Far Cry 6, are no longer part of the development team.” The foreign press, specifically VideoGamesChronicle, revealed in November that the executive producer Dan Hay left the company. There is talk of a prominent figure who has worked on several chapters of the saga. Axios interviewed some employees, revealing the reasons for discontent most disparate.
Ubisoft and the great exodus of developers
Some of the developers involved in the exodus, following the resignation of Dan Hay (who came “after more than ten years” to the company, and then announced “a new chapter in his professional life” from November 12 onwards), tell yourself. The numbers speak for themselves. At least sixty employees they have left the company’s Montreal and Toronto divisions in the past six months. Among the reasons cited by the former developers there seems to be everything. There is talk of “low salaries, many opportunities elsewhere, a frustration with the creative direction … and Ubisoft’s handling of the scandal that emerged in mid-2020”.
One developer told Axios: “Something, between handling and scraping the bottom of the barrel, really pushed me away.” In all of this, the only official announcement from Ubisoft is about a remake of the Splinter Cell original, dating back to 2022. For the project, the Toronto division will “draw heavily from the richness of the brand”. The game will use the Snowdrop engine (The Division, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, the new Star Wars game) “to deliver next-generation graphics, with the gameplay and lighting the series is known for.” It will be the return to the franchise after ten years of nothing. Meanwhile, several sources allude to a reallocation of staff (or what’s left of it) to win back disappointed fans by drawing inspiration from IO Interactive’s approach to the latest Hitmans.
Now it’s up to you to tell us yours: what do you think of what is happening at the transalpine publisher? Let us know below, and as always don’t forget to stay on TechGameWorld.com for all the most important news for gamers and more. For your purely gaming needs, you can instead find the best discounts in digital format on Instant Gaming.