Stricken Ubisoft Says to Close British Studio

The Ubisoft Entertainment logo is seen at the Paris Games Week (PGW), a trade fair for video games in Paris, France, October 29, 2019. (Reuters)
The Ubisoft Entertainment logo is seen at the Paris Games Week (PGW), a trade fair for video games in Paris, France, October 29, 2019. (Reuters)
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Stricken Ubisoft Says to Close British Studio

The Ubisoft Entertainment logo is seen at the Paris Games Week (PGW), a trade fair for video games in Paris, France, October 29, 2019. (Reuters)
The Ubisoft Entertainment logo is seen at the Paris Games Week (PGW), a trade fair for video games in Paris, France, October 29, 2019. (Reuters)

Struggling French games giant Ubisoft said Monday that it would close a British studio and lay off 185 people across Europe as part of a restructuring.

The job cuts, which also affect operations in Germany and Sweden, were "part of our ongoing efforts to prioritize projects and reduce costs that ensure long-term stability", Ubisoft told AFP.

Monday's announcement covered the closure of Ubisoft's studio in Leamington in central England and layoffs at another in Newcastle, as well as in Duesseldorf and Stockholm.

The 185 job cuts across Europe compare with around 18,000 worldwide employees at the group.

Ubisoft had already closed studios in San Francisco and Osaka and began winding down its Sydney operation after shooter "XDefiant" last year failed to strike a chord with players, shedding 277 jobs.

Another blow had come with the lukewarm reception of another game, "Star Wars: Outlaws", which missed sales expectations.

And in January, Ubisoft announced a delay to the release of the latest instalment in its money-spinning flagship series "Assassin's Creed", to March 20.

The step forced bosses to lower their financial forecasts for the year, and Ubisoft's shares have fallen more than 40 percent in the past 12 months.

It has said it is considering its "strategic and capitalistic options" going into 2025, with rumors the company could be bought out and taken off the stock market.



Downloads of DeepSeek's AI Apps Paused in South Korea Over Privacy Concerns 

People watch a TV reporting DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup, during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP)
People watch a TV reporting DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup, during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP)
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Downloads of DeepSeek's AI Apps Paused in South Korea Over Privacy Concerns 

People watch a TV reporting DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup, during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP)
People watch a TV reporting DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup, during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP)

DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup, has temporarily paused downloads of its chatbot apps in South Korea while it works with local authorities to address privacy concerns, South Korean officials said Monday.

South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission said DeepSeek’s apps were removed from the local versions of Apple’s App Store and Google Play on Saturday evening and that the company agreed to work with the agency to strengthen privacy protections before relaunching the apps.

The action does not affect users who have already downloaded DeepSeek on their phones or use it on personal computers. Nam Seok, director of the South Korean commission’s investigation division, advised South Korean users of DeepSeek to delete the app from their devices or avoid entering personal information into the tool until the issues are resolved.

DeepSeek got worldwide attention last month when it claimed it built its popular chatbot at a fraction of the cost of those made by US companies. The resulting frenzy upended markets and fueled debates over competition between the US and China in developing AI technology.

Many South Korean government agencies and companies have either blocked DeepSeek from their networks or prohibited employees from using the app for work, amid worries that the AI model was gathering too much sensitive information.

The South Korean privacy commission, which began reviewing DeepSeek’s services last month, found that the company lacked transparency about third-party data transfers and potentially collected excessive personal information, Nam said.

Nam said the commission did not have an estimate on the number of DeepSeek users in South Korea. A recent analysis by Wiseapp Retail found that DeepSeek was used by about 1.2 million smartphone users in South Korea during the fourth week of January, emerging as the second-most-popular AI model behind ChatGPT.