Former workers of Ubisoft Barcelona, one of several studios that worked on Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, have started their own studio a month after the team went on strike over proposed layoffs.
Dark Ritual Studios was founded with the goal of “creating immersive indie games,” as stated in the studio’s mission on the official site. Dark Ritual is led by Myles Kerwin as game director, who previously worked as expert level designer at Ubisoft Barcelona.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Kerwin says that working at a large organization like Ubisoft showed “how difficult it can be to stay agile,” explaining that the team aims to remain small enough so that ideas can move quickly from discussion to implementation.
“Our experience across Ubisoft Barcelona and other studios reinforced a belief that has been growing for a while: great games don’t necessarily require enormous teams,” Kerwin tells GamesIndustry.biz. “AAA development has become incredibly complex. Large productions inevitably involve many layers of coordination, and that can slow creative decision-making.”
The announcement comes a month after Ubisoft proposed layoffs of 51 employees at the studio, alongside the closure of its Winnipeg and Belgrade subsidiaries. At the time, a source familiar with the situation told Game Developer the company was taking action to reduce costs and focus on new strategic priorities.
The news was met with strikes led by Spanish union Confederación General del Trabajo. While Ubisoft didn’t issue any further announcements, employees mentioned a collective redundancy plan along with being open to new job opportunities via LinkedIn (thanks, Kotaku).
Yesterday, Kerwin wrote on LinkedIn that July marked his last month with Ubisoft due to the company “announcing internal restructuring” and “laying off the Assassin’s Creed team” in Barcelona.
“More than two years ago, I was honored to be invited to join Ubisoft Barcelona to work on Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced,” the post reads. “Along with this amazing team, we shipped a game that has already reached more than 3 million players, helped restore trust in the brand, and, most importantly, delivering something the fans were very happy with. But now, it’s time for something new.”
Dark Ritual Studios has secured funding to complete its first game, called Puzzle Mage, which is set to release in 2027. You can learn more about the project and the studio over at official site.