While Ubisoft has been going through plenty of layoffs in recent times in its bid to cut down on costs, in its new annual financial report, the company has recognized that it is at risk of the “loss of key talent and skills”. In the “Risks Related to Talent” section of its report, Ubisoft acknowledged that its success depends on “its teams’ know-how and skills in a highly competitive international market.”
“The sudden departure of members of the games core teams could be damaging to the Group’s development and could have a significant impact on its editorial policy,” continued Ubisoft’s report.
“The Group’s success also depends on its teams’ know-how and skills in a highly competitive international market. Indeed, the video game industry requires a certain number of innovative skills at the cutting edge of their respective fields. The Group is therefore exposed to a situation of dependence on certain key talents whose creativity or technical expertise is rare and highly valued in the market (artificial intelligence, cloud gaming, data, etc).”
To deal with this, the company has outlined a few potential ways it can mitigate the risk it faces with the loss of talent across various areas. This includes succession plans being put into place for executive officers and the gradual implementation of similar plans being set up for positions like creative director, producer, and general manager for its studios.
“The Group has continued to develop this plan by identifying key talents and expertise as well as critical roles, key positions, and high-potential employees, to begin implementing retention strategies before establishing individual succession plans for key roles, including internal development and a pool of external talent.”
The section continues on to discuss the potential risks faced by Ubisoft when it comes to hiring new talent. A key problem in this regard is the fact that Ubisoft doesn’t seem attractive enough for new employees in higher positions, especially in light of a competitive industry.
“Ubisoft faces increasing pressure from not only its direct competitors in the video game sector but also from competitors in other sectors/industries in search of the same talent (engineers, etc.).”
To mitigate these risks, the company has outlined its plan to be more selective about its recruitment, development, and retention processes. Along with this, Ubisoft is also partnering with leading colleges across various countries to aid its recruitment efforts, while also offering “significant and ever-growing opportunities for internal development and career advancement.”
In the same report, Ubisoft also discussed the risks faced by game development teams when a project is released either too early or too late. While releasing a game too early means that it will suffer from severe technical issues, releasing a game too late can also hinder its success, “when market anticipation has waned, and it no longer meets market standards in a highly competitive environment”.
In the meantime, former employees of Ubisoft Barcelona have been protesting recent layoffs affecting 51 workers. The protest, which started on June 30th, will come to an end later this week on July 16th, with a total of six strikes taking place over the course of three weeks.
