According to IGN, Ubisoft has become the latest publisher to try to force its developers to return to the office. Starting this week, Ubisoft Montreal developers are required to work in-person at the office at least two days a week.
Ubisoft has previously publicly stated in 2021 that the company wanted to adopt a hybrid work approach with a small number of fully remote and fully on-site employees, but developers told IGN that the company has always assured them that they can work fully remotely long-term. Now, the company requires all employees to be on-site for at least two days, with rare exceptions.
A Ubisoft representative told IGN: "Like many entertainment and technology companies, we are asking colleagues to return to the office at a critical time for each team to identify. We believe that collaborative collaboration, face-to-face discussions, rapid iteration, and the sense of belonging that can only come from being more face-to-face will help us work together more effectively and quickly, and achieve our business goals..."
“In addition to extensive personal accommodations and arrangements, open and ongoing conversations are ongoing to ease this transition and the impact on everyone’s well-being, which remains our top priority to continue delivering great games.”
Employees IGN spoke to described the requirement to return to the office as another exacerbation of ongoing morale issues at Ubisoft following a work culture scandal, multiple rounds of layoffs and financial woes.
Previously, Riot Games and Activision Blizzard also earlier asked employees to return to the office. However, a Riot Games representative told GamesIdustry.biz that the company changed its plans to return to offices after last year's announcement, and that the requirement is now based on team needs, with some teams only holding office meetings once a month.