After almost 30 years with the company, Ralf Wirising, long-time head of the German branch and also Managing Director Europe, will leave Ubisoft. Ubisoft confirmed this when asked by GamesMarkt.
Ralf Wirsing was one of the most influential figures in the German games industry over the past two decades. The manager began his career at Ubisoft's German branch in 1997 and held various positions in product management, PR and business development. In 2004, he took over the management of what is now Ubisoft Blue Byte, Ubisoft's German studio group. From 2007, he took on responsibility for Ubisoft in Germany (in German) and GSA, first as General Manager and later as Managing Director. In 2022, he also took on additional responsibility (in German) at European level as Managing Director Europe.
Ralf Wirsing's coming departure was hinted at in Germany's official company register. There, Ralf Wirsing's individual power of attorney was entered as expired on 26 November. Karsten Jahn, General Manager of Marketing Central Europe since 2023, was newly registered. Following an initial report about Ralf's departure, GamesMarkt contacted Ubisoft's German office in Düsseldorf, where his departure was confirmed with the following statement:
Ubisoft’s Publishing organization continues to evolve as part of the company’s ongoing transformation to enhance efficiency and strengthen collaboration across teams.
With this restructuring, Ralf Wirsing will be moving on from the company. Throughout his distinguished career at Ubisoft, Ralf has played a pivotal role in shaping the company’s presence in Europe, particularly in Germany, where his leadership within the games industry and strong relationships across the sector have been instrumental in supporting Ubisoft titles. We thank Ralf for his many contributions.
Ralf Wirising also played an important role at association level. As one of the board members of the BIU (in German), he prepared the merger of the two former games associations in Germany to form today's game. After the merger, he became the first chairman (in German) of the new association and, alongside Felix Falk, the face of the united German games industry. When he took on responsibility for Europe at Ubisoft, he also handed over the position of chairman of the German association, but remained on the board.
