Ubisoft has proposed closing Finnish studio RedLynx, putting up to 52 jobs at risk, while simultaneously cutting 70 positions at its Singapore development hub.
The measures affect RedLynx in Helsinki, Finland, and Ubisoft Singapore, two operations that had been integrated into the publisher’s central support infrastructure.
Proposed Closure of RedLynx in Finland
Ubisoft notified its teams of a proposal to shut down RedLynx entirely, affecting around 52 staff members. Founded in 2000 as Punainen Ilves Laboratoriot Oy, the Helsinki-based studio became a prominent arcade racing developer after creating the Trials franchise, which began on web browsers before achieving breakout success with Trials HD on Xbox Live Arcade in 2009. Beginning with the launch of the original Trials as a web game, RedLynx subsequently developed multiple titles across diverse hardware platforms, including the Nokia N-Gage – a platform for which the studio made games like High Seize, Pathway to Glory: Ikusa Islands, and Reset Generation.
Ubisoft acquired the studio in 2011 following the popularity of Trials 2 and Trials HD. Subsequent releases included Trials Evolution, Trials Frontier, Trials Fusion, Trials of the Blood Dragon, and Trials Rising, the latter of which shipped in 2019. In the years following, RedLynx shifted from a primary development house into a support studio, aiding Massive Entertainment with The Division 2 port for Google Stadia, developing the short-lived mobile game Gwen’s Getaway, and contributing to the Switch 2 port of Star Wars Outlaws.
Ubisoft wird RedLynx schließen, die für das Trials-Franchise zuständig waren. Zudem werden 70 Devs in Singapur entlassen.https://t.co/HRCkBzlIAn
Management ultimately concluded that the studio was not currently assigned to a new project and that resizing alone could not keep it sustainable.
Because Finland requires mandatory employer-employee change negotiations for companies with at least 50 staff facing position cuts, the closure remains a proposal subject to those formal consultations.
Downsizing at Ubisoft Singapore
Simultaneously, Ubisoft announced that 70 positions have been impacted at Ubisoft Singapore. Founded in 2008 as part of an expansion into Southeast Asia, the studio spent much of its history contributing to naval combat systems and support tasks across the Assassin’s Creed series, stretching back to 2009’s Assassin’s Creed 2. Before this, the team also headed up the creation of Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands and Ghost Recon Phantoms.
More recently, the studio led development on Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, which crossed 3.5 million sales within two weeks of release.
Ubisoft Closing RedLynx Studio & Downsizing Singapore Studiohttps://t.co/CQqNXoJu9p
The 70 job cuts represent approximately one-fifth of the studio’s remaining headcount. Ubisoft stated that the reductions were necessary to align the studio with upcoming production needs while emphasizing that it remains an important part of the company’s global production organization.
Broader Financial Restructuring and Studio Closures
These cuts form part of a long-running cost-reduction program as Ubisoft reorganizes its global operations into six distinct Creative Houses.
Throughout the restructuring effort, Ubisoft has closed studios in Stockholm, Halifax, Winnipeg, and Belgrade, canceled six game projects, and eliminated jobs worldwide. Antti Ilvessuo, co-creator of the Trials series who departed RedLynx years prior, reflected on the studio’s legacy following the closure announcement.
“I’m proud of what we built at RedLynx, but my part in that story ended years ago. In 2012, Trials Evolution’s riddle started, and its final chapter is set in 2113. So even something we made back then still has most of its future ahead of it.”
Antti Ilvessuo, Trials series co-creator, via Eurogamer
The closure of RedLynx marks the end of an era for the studio, yet the enduring legacy of the Trials series continues to resonate with its global community.
Ubisoft is reportedly planning to close RedLynx, the Finnish studio best known for the Trials series.According to VGC, Ubisoft’s review found that RedLynx currently has no active project, and simply downsizing the studio wouldn’t make it sustainable. The proposed closure… pic.twitter.com/gX3lVvfwbE