Ubisoft is laying off 40 devs at studio working on Splinter Cell remake, but confirms the game is still in production

"This decision was not taken lightly."

Ubisoft is laying off 40 employees at its Toronto studio, which is currently working on the company's long-in-the-works Splinter Cell remake.

In a statement shared with tech outlet MobileSyrup, Ubisoft said this decision "was not taken lightly". It added it was not a reflection of the "talent, dedication, or contributions" of those impacted by the layoffs at the studio.

"Our priority now is to support them through this transition with comprehensive severance packages and robust career placement assistance," Ubisoft said.

Despite these changes at Ubisoft Toronto, its Splinter Cell remake is still in development, the company confirmed. Ubisoft first announced its plans to remake Splinter Cell in December 2021. At this time, the company said this game is being built "from the ground up" with updated visuals and improved design elements to "match player comfort and expectations". In addition to this, Ubisoft confirmed the game will be linear, and won't feature any open world gameplay, much like the originals.

In the time since, a job listing revealed Ubisoft is updating its story for a "modern-day audience", and that it hopes to bring in new fans to the franchise with this remake. In 2022, the studio then revealed some concept art for its upcoming - but still "very early" in development - Splinter Cell remake.

As well as this remake, Ubisoft Toronto will also remain a "key contributor to several codev mandates and service teams", the company told MobileSyrup.

Image credit: Ubisoft

News of layoffs at the Toronto studio follows an announcement earlier this year that Ubisoft was initiating a "major organisational, operational and portfolio reset". This saw Ubisoft close two studios, cancel six projects - including its Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake - and delay seven games.