Ubisoft Plans to Close Several Studios Over the Next 3 Years

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As a big Ubisoft fan, I was pretty surprised to hear they’re planning some big changes. Apparently, they’re going to be closing a few of their studios over the next three years. It sounds like they’re trying to simplify things and focus on just five main creative teams instead of having so many different studios working separately. They talked about this during a recent financial call, and it’s definitely a shift in how they’re organizing things.

During a recent call, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot announced that the company will be closing some studios and continuing to reorganize its operations. He explained that these tough choices are essential for creating a leaner, more effective, and financially stable company for the future.

So, Ubisoft is making some big changes, and honestly, it’s a bit of a bummer. They’ve decided to cancel six games they were already working on, and that includes the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake we’ve all been waiting for. It’s not just that one either – they scrapped four other projects, including three totally new games we hadn’t even heard about, plus a mobile title. It’s a lot of stuff getting shelved, and it’s disappointing to see a game like Prince of Persia get put on hold.

This announcement arrives after a challenging year for Ubisoft. It follows recent job cuts at Massive Studios and the departure of Julian Gerighty, the executive producer of The Division, who has moved to DICE.

As part of a company-wide shift in strategy, Ubisoft closed its mobile game studio in Halifax and began restructuring teams at its locations in Abu Dhabi and RedLynx, according to CFO Frédérick Duguet.

Game Rant contacted Ubisoft to ask about the timing of the studio closures and when the affected studios would be revealed, but Ubisoft did not provide a response.

What Ubisoft’s Restructuring Really Means

Game Rant | Source Images: Ubisoft

The company’s restructuring plans were presented alongside upbeat financial projections.

Duguet announced that the company’s net bookings for the third quarter reached €330 million (about $385.7 million). He said this success was due to better-than-expected collaborations and a strong library of existing content, despite plans to downsize its studio space.

Ubisoft’s net bookings for the third quarter were €301.8 million (about $352.7 million), and €784 million (approximately $916.3 million) for the first nine months of the year. These figures represent a 33.8% decrease compared to the same period last year.

Ubisoft, as a public company, aims to reassure its investors with positive financial forecasts. However, announcing studio closures and layoffs at the same time sends a conflicting message and likely causes hardship for the employees impacted by these changes.

Massive laid off 55 employees, RedLynx cut 60 jobs, and the Abu Dhabi studio eliminated 29 positions. Additionally, Ubisoft is requiring all employees to return to working in the office, according to CFO Frédérick Duguet.

Ubisoft has decided to stop working on six games that were currently being developed. According to Ubisoft’s Duguet, these games didn’t meet the company’s higher standards for quality, as they’re now focusing on a smaller number of projects. He didn’t mention which games were canceled.

Duguet also announced that a highly anticipated game has been pushed back to next year, though he couldn’t share any specifics. This game was one of eight titles experiencing delays.

Ubisoft is restructuring with a new system where each of its major game franchises will be managed by a separate, independent studio. The company hopes this change will lead to stronger financial performance within the next three years, according to Ubisoft’s Duguet.

These new studios will each focus on a different type of game. They’ll be making everything from our main series titles to co-op shooters, ongoing service games, fantasy adventures, story-focused games, and titles for families.

Vantage Studios, which is owned by Ubisoft and partially invested in by Tencent, will now be responsible for Ubisoft’s biggest game series, like Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six. The studio aims to make each of these franchises generate over a billion dollars in revenue every year, according to a recent announcement.

The other houses will break up the remaining franchises.

Ubisoft will announce its latest financial results on February 12th. During the call, they might share updates about potential job cuts and any changes to their game release schedule.

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2026-01-22 01:05