Ubisoft Shuts Down Casablanca Studios

It seems a lot of game studios have been closing down as of late: EA shut down Mythic Entertainment (they made the Dungeon Keeper mobile game, so... maybe that was justified), and more recently, Microsoft put Lionhead studios to bed, putting an end to one of the most iconic studios in the gaming world and ending the famous, slightly beloved RPG series Fable. Well, it's time to add another company to the obituaries, for Ubisoft is officially shutting down Ubisoft Casablanca, the developer behind the mobile ports for Rayman Adventures, Rayman Legends, and Rayman 3D.

According to Ubisoft Mobile executive director Jean-Michel Detoc:
 

"Ubisoft Casablanca has been part of Ubisoft for 18 years, and contributed to a lot of memorable games over the years, especially on portable consoles. Unfortunately, as the video game market evolved in the past few years, we didn't find a sustainable formula for the studio within our broader network. We thank the Casablanca team for their hard work throughout the years."

Casablanca had 48 employees, some of which were let go entirely, while others were placed in other positions within the company. For Ubisoft, the closing is no big deal: they employ 10,000 people in 29 studios around the world, but of course, it's always sad to hear some people are losing their livlihoods to office politics. Best wishes to those effected.

But while we're on the subject... I'm sure you're all wondering, as I am--if Ubisoft employs 10,000 people, how come their QA still sucks so bad? Is this a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth?

Or maybe the recipe is just rotten.