Ubisoft Ghost Recon Project OVR Misses Internal Alpha Targets Leading to Massive Management Restructuring and Staff Fears at Paris Studio
The next title in the Ghost Recon series is currently facing serious internal issues. Insider Gaming has revealed that Project OVR has recently missed its internal alpha testing stages, which has led corporate to implement a drastic restructure to the management of the development team within the Ubisoft Paris studios.
Bruno Galet has now been appointed the senior producer of the Project OVR team in order to remove the bottleneck in production. However, this executive intervention also sees Jean Baptiste Duval, VP of production at Ubisoft, and Julien Sansalone, VP of the global creative office at the French publishers, directly oversee the project. Both of these figures will need to establish an immediate and daily presence on the studio floor.
According to the contents of a single internal memo obtained, corporate headquarters still believes that the base of the game is sound and that Project OVR remains a top priority. However, members working on the title have reportedly voiced great worry over the sudden implementation of a new management system, even likening the environment within the studios to a pre cursor of
something really bad is going to happen
According to employees speaking anonymously about the situation, development missed targets are due to a mix of unrealistic expectations, a lack of appropriate planning, and ineffective project management. During a recent project review, developers allegedly offered production schedule adjustments to allow for greater leeway and stable development. These offers were rejected by corporate headquarters, in what was reportedly another cause of great frustration, as workers are convinced that the creative direction of the game is not being listened to by project directors.
A source inside the company stated that corporate communication of such nature usually means that the project is already in serious trouble. Tension is increasing as staff speculate about the potential of the next Ghost Recon either receiving a complete creative rewrite or total cancellation should performance not improve quickly enough. This tension is being exacerbated by silent staff reductions in the Parisian studios and the outright closure of Ubisofts Winnipeg office; leaving workers to fear a further set of lay offs. Ubisoft did not reply to attempts to solicit comments on the current issues.
