Red Storm Entertainment, the Cary game studio co-founded by novelist Tom Clancy, is sharply cutting back. The company has told state officials it will lay off 105 employees and stop making games, with most impacted staff seeing their last day on May 18. A smaller group will stay on to focus on engine work and internal support as the studio scales down.
State filing shows scope
In a notice to the North Carolina Department of Commerce, the company listed 105 affected workers at its Cary office at 3001 Weston Parkway. The filing was received by the state on March 19 and classifies the move as a permanent layoff under the federal WARN program.
What the company said
Red Storm told state officials the cuts are the result of “economic forces” and said it will stop producing games while retaining some employees to handle engine and tool development, according to Spectrum News. The studio, founded in 1996, joined Ubisoft in 2000 and has been credited with work on Tom Clancy franchises including Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six, per Red Storm Entertainment.
Part of Ubisoft's wider restructure
The Cary cuts are landing as Ubisoft carries out a broader cost-cutting and reorganization effort that has reportedly included canceling projects and reshaping studios this year. PC Gamer reports that Red Storm will remain open in a support role, shifting its focus to engine and IT assistance after the layoffs.
Local impact and resources
Cary hosts several game industry operations, including Epic Games, so a 100-plus person reduction at one studio will ripple through the Triangle tech scene, as Spectrum News notes. Workers affected by WARN-level layoffs are typically eligible for rapid-response help and job-search support through NCWorks and the state's Dislocated Worker unit.
According to the state filing and industry reports, this appears to be one of the largest single-studio job cuts in the region in recent years. This story will be updated if Red Storm or Ubisoft releases additional details.
