Assassin's Creed studio Ubisoft returns with more bad news, proposing "voluntary" layoffs that could cut up to 200 people at its France location

After a week of terrible news about Ubisoft game cancellations and delays, the company has announced it's exploring eliminating 200 roles at its Paris headquarters through a "voluntary mutual termination agreement."

In a statement sent to GamesRadar+, Ubisoft says that this "remains a proposal" – at least for the time being. "In line with last week's announcements on its new operating model and the acceleration of cost-reduction initiatives, Ubisoft International has initiated discussions regarding a potential Rupture Conventionnelle Collective (RCC), a collective, voluntary mutual termination agreement that could involve up to 200 positions at its headquarters in France," it begins.

"At this stage, this remains a proposal, and no decision will be final until a collective agreement is reached with employee representatives and validated by French authorities. The proposal applies exclusively to Ubisoft International employees under French contracts and has no impact on other French entities or Ubisoft teams worldwide."

While it remains to be seen if this proposal goes ahead, Ubisoft insists that the plan would be purely voluntary. It sounds similar to last October, when Ubisoft announced a voluntary redundancy program at Star Wars Outlaws studios Massive Entertainment and Ubisoft Stockholm. A statement posted to the Massive Twitter account at the time called it a "voluntary career transition program, giving eligible employees team members the opportunity to take their next career step on their own terms."

This latest news comes not even a week after Ubisoft announced a "major reset" for the company, which involved the cancellation of six games – including the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake – and delay of seven others (reportedly including the long-rumored Assassin's Creed: Black Flag remake).

At the time, the company outlined its plan to consolidate its game production under five so-called "Creative Houses," each focusing on specific Ubisoft franchises and genres.

"Taken together, these measures mark a decisive turning point for Ubisoft and reflect our determination to confront challenges head-on to reshape the Group for the long term," CEO Yves Guillemot said at the time, adding: "It is a radical move, relying on a more decentralized creative organization with faster decision making and best-in-class cross functional core services supporting and serving each Creative House."

Former Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake dev alleges the game was "close to the finish line," suffered from bad "internal alignment": "Ubisoft was heading in a different direction."