Ubisoft Strikes and Black Flag Remake Rumors [Nerfed.ai]

[00:00] Vanessa Calderon: Nerfed.ai, Ubisoft Management Crisis? [00:05] Vanessa Calderon: Welcome to the show. I am Vanessa Calderone. [00:08] Marcus Shaw: And I'm Marcus Shaw. You're listening to Nerfed AI, where we keep you updated on everything worth playing and everything breaking the industry. [00:17] Vanessa Calderon: And speaking of breaking things, Marcus, Ubisoft Management is currently speed running the how to alienate your entire workforce category. [00:27] Vanessa Calderon: Right. [00:27] Vanessa Calderon: It is January 30th, 2026, and the vibes in Paris are, shall we say, spicy. [00:35] Marcus Shaw: Yeah, spicy is putting it lightly, Vanessa. [00:39] Marcus Shaw: French unions, like the STJV, have just called for a four-day strike starting tomorrow. [00:46] Marcus Shaw: This isn't just about a few disgruntled deaths. [00:49] Marcus Shaw: It's a full-on revolt against the new return to office mandate. [00:53] Vanessa Calderon: Right, because in the year of our Lord 2026, [00:57] Vanessa Calderon: forcing a three-day in-office week after promising remote flexibility [01:02] Vanessa Calderon: is definitely the way to win hearts and minds. [01:05] Vanessa Calderon: It is giving stuck in 2019 energy. [01:09] Vanessa Calderon: And let us not forget the 200 voluntary redundancies they are dangling. [01:14] Vanessa Calderon: Very classy. [01:16] Marcus Shaw: The unions are being very clear. [01:18] Marcus Shaw: They say management needs to understand they can't just do whatever they want. [01:23] Marcus Shaw: They're demanding better pay and a real dialogue on remote work. [01:27] Marcus Shaw: It is a huge blow to their production pipeline if this actually grinds things to a halt. [01:34] Vanessa Calderon: It is the classic corporate move, Marcus. [01:37] Vanessa Calderon: We value our talent, but also, could you please leave voluntarily so we do not have to pay for a full layoff? [01:45] Vanessa Calderon: It is subtle sarcasm in boardroom form. [01:48] Vanessa Calderon: But wait, while the building is metaphorically on fire, the social media team is out here posting memes. [01:55] Marcus Shaw: Yep, the Black Flag meme. [01:58] Marcus Shaw: Ubisoft finally acknowledged the rumors about the Assassin's Creed Black Flag remake. [02:03] Marcus Shaw: They used that legendary GTA, ah shit, here we go again meme. [02:10] Marcus Shaw: Fans are hyped, but the timing is questionable. [02:13] Vanessa Calderon: Exactly. It is peak distraction culture. [02:17] Vanessa Calderon: Don't look at the picket lines, look at the cool pirate game from 12 years ago that we are making again. [02:24] Vanessa Calderon: Don't get me wrong, I love Edward Kenway as much as the next person. [02:29] Vanessa Calderon: But reading the room isn't exactly in Ubisoft's current skill tree, is it? [02:34] Marcus Shaw: Vanessa, you know the internet. [02:37] Marcus Shaw: Everyone forgot about the labor dispute for at least five minutes to argue about whether the water physics will be better in the remake. [02:45] Marcus Shaw: But seriously, if the strike lasts, who knows when we'll actually see that game. [02:51] Vanessa Calderon: Brutal, you can't ship code with memes, Marcus. [02:54] Vanessa Calderon: Well, maybe some indie devs can, but not a AAA behemoth. [03:00] Vanessa Calderon: Speaking of things actually coming out, did you see the Scott Pilgrim X trailer? [03:06] Marcus Shaw: Wow, I did! It is looking incredible! We finally got a release date too! [03:13] Marcus Shaw: It is refreshing to see a project that feels like it is actually landing on its feet with some genuine style. [03:20] Vanessa Calderon: It is vibrant, it is punchy, and it actually has a release date that feels real. [03:26] Vanessa Calderon: It is the palette cleanser we needed this week. [03:29] Vanessa Calderon: I just hope the people making it aren't being told they have to commute three hours a day to finish the polish. [03:35] Marcus Shaw: Mm-hmm. One can only hope. But back to the big picture, Ubisoft is the canary in the coal mine for 2026. [03:44] Marcus Shaw: If these strikes spread or result in major delays, the back half of this year's release calendar is going to look very different. [03:52] Vanessa Calderon: That's rough. It is a power struggle, plain and simple. Management wants control. The people making the games want a life. [04:01] Vanessa Calderon: I am putting Ubisoft restructuring on my bingo card for the third time this year. [04:07] Marcus Shaw: Wait, what? At this rate, you'll have a blackout by March, Vanessa? [04:13] Vanessa Calderon: For real, that is all the time we have for this wrap-up. [04:17] Vanessa Calderon: We will be watching those picket lines and those pirate ships closely at nerf.neuralnewscast.com. [04:24] Marcus Shaw: No way! I can't believe we're already out of time. [04:29] Marcus Shaw: I'm Marcus Shaw. Thanks for nerding out with us. [04:31] Vanessa Calderon: And I'm Vanessa Calderone. Keep your frames high and your salt levels low. [04:37] Vanessa Calderon: Neural Newscast is AI-assisted, human-reviewed. [04:40] Vanessa Calderon: View our AI Transparency Policy at neuralnewscast.com.