Ubisoft has ended game development at Red Storm, converting the historic Tom Clancy studio into a support hub and laying off 105 staff. Red Storm will remain open in a reduced role focused on engine and IT support while its development teams are cut. Ubisoft Storm—the North Carolina studio co-founded by Tom Clancy in 1996—will no longer produce new games as part of Ubisoft’s wider cost-saving reorganization. The change affects 105 employees, with the remaining staff reassigned to Snowdrop engine support and IT functions, according to gamesindustry.biz.
What changed in Red Storm, and why?
Ubisoft announced that Ubisoft Storm will immediately stop internal game development. The studio’s recent projects included VR work and contributions to larger Ubisoft titles, but Ubisoft previously canceled several in-development projects tied to the studio. Before shelving those projects, Ubisoft Storm had worked on an untitled Splinter Cell VR project and contributed to The Division Heartland.
This change is part of a bigger plan by Ubisoft to save money and combine development resources. Red Storm will still be in charge of support, keeping the Snowdrop engine running for all of Ubisoft’s big games.
Red Storm: What this means for workers and players
- Immediate effect: 105 people at Ubisoft Storm lose their jobs, and the rest of the staff moves to engine and IT support.
- Ongoing support role: Red Storm will work on the Snowdrop engine, which powers games like Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Star Wars Outlaws.
- Contributions to the franchise: Ubisoft Storm helped build the foundations for Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon in the past, but its development work is now on hold.
People have known the name Red Storm for thirty years because of Tom Clancy’s books. The studio’s shift from development to support is a sign of a trend among big publishers to make their budgets and pipelines more efficient. This shift means that there will be fewer internal teams making new Tom Clancy games for players. For developers, it shows that AAA studios still have a lot of trouble keeping their staff.
Quick look at some important facts
- Studio: Red Storm Entertainment is the studio.
- Action: Stop making games and switch to a support role.
- Layoffs: 105 people lost their jobs.
- What to do next: support for the Snowdrop engine, IT, and customer service.
In conclusion, Red Storm has moved from being a game development studio to a support role at Ubisoft. This transition means the company is no longer making games, affecting 105 people.
