Ubisoft is making main strikes to avoid wasting itself from plummeting inventory costs, confirming particulars on its new plans. Partwork of that was cancelling, a number of titles, together with the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake, and delaying 7 others. The subsequent step seems to be so much like extra layoffs and a giant restructuring of the corporate.
First, Ubisoft confirmed that the current closures of Halifax and Stockholm studios have been a part of the reset. VGC experiences that within the convention name they have been invited to attend, Ubisoft said they’d contemplate promoting different property if wanted, however didn’t elaborate.
Ubisoft has additionally mentioned it plans to dashing up its price discount plans, aiming to avoid wasting one other €200 million within the subsequent two years. They didn’t affirm any layoff plans as such, however did say in regard to cancelled tasks that there’ll “…some individuals who might be refocused on different large tasks, and a few could depart the corporate.”
Layoffs, although, are virtually inevitable. Ubisoft usually employs a staggering variety of individuals. By late 2025, its personal web site listed 17,000 staff, which equates to someplace within the realm of €2.5-3 billion, based mostly on the corporate’s monetary experiences. “restructuring” was confirmed for the Abu Dhabi, RedLynx, and Large groups, a few of which we’ve already seen.
Transferring on, Ubisoft is carrying on with its beforehand introduced plan to separate the corporate into impartial “artistic homes”. We already know concerning the first one: Vantage Studios, the subsidiary wherein Tencent owns simply over 1 / 4. In fact, Tencent additionally holds stakes in Ubisoft itself, too.
Vantage Studios holds the rights to Murderer’s Creed, Far Cry and Rainbow Six.
4 different “artistic homes” are being deliberate, every one being organised round a style. To this point, they haven’t been given names, however beneath these there might be a “artistic community” of studios that associate with the principle groups, after which beneath that there’s core providers.
Right here’s the breakdown:
- Inventive Home 2: “aggressive and cooperative shooter experiences.” Contains The Division, Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell.
- Inventive Home 3: Specializing in “reside” video games akin to For Honor, The Crew, Rider’s Republic, Brawlhall and Cranium & Bones.
- Inventive Home 4: Fantasy and narritve pushed stuff, together with Anno, Would possibly & Magic, Rayman, Prince of Perisa and Past Good & Evil.
- Inventive Home 5: Informal and household, together with Simply Dance, Uno and Hasbro stuff.
“”These measures mark a decisive turning level for Ubisoft and mirror our dedication to confront challenges head-on to reshape the Group for the long run,” Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot mentioned in an announcement. “The portfolio refocus could have a big impression on the Group’s brief time period monetary trajectory, notably in fiscal years 2026 and 2027, however this reset will strengthen the Group and allow it to resume with sustainable progress and sturdy money era. Ubisoft is coming into a brand new part – one designed to reclaim artistic management and construct worth for gamers and stakeholders over the long run.”
Bluntly, the transfer to “artistic homes” is almost certainly a technique to conceal and protect Ubisoft’s large IP ought to the principle firm collapse. However, if every one is allowed some correct independence, it might lead to higher high quality video games. Provided that they get freedom and Ubisoft’s eases up on its demand that each sport is made utilizing the identical template, an thought that when served nicely, however today has resulted in much less high quality total.
