It is claimed that a decision has been made to close the Ubisoft Benelux branch (serving Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg), with other branches set to be closed in the near future.
The information, which includes an excerpt from an internal email, was shared on the ResetEra forum by user Creamium. The email states that the company must keep pace with the market, but is currently facing challenges of declining sales (especially of disc-based versions), centralization of marketing and communication channels, and a shift from major full-fledged releases to free-to-play, mobile, and seasonal games. Therefore, Ubisoft leadership will close several subsidiaries in Europe, including the Ubisoft Benelux division.
Many forum users believe that with the rising popularity of digital distribution over physical releases — as noted in the email — the role of local distributors is likely to become increasingly negligible, while maintaining offices entails significant expenses.