Assassin’s Creed maker Ubisoft cuts jobs, sparks strike | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

Ubisoft, the French video game publisher behind the well-known Assassin’s Creed franchise, is facing a fresh wave of backlash from labor unions as the company rolled out restructuring plans in France.

On Jan 21, Ubisoft announced its plans for a major “organizational, operational and portfolio reset” to reclaim the Group’s trajectory to success and for “robust cash generation.” As the company elaborated on the three pillars through which this reset could be achieved, it garnered fresh outrage from workers in France.

A new operating model
A refocused portfolio with a revised 3-year roadmap, and
Rightsizing the organization.

More clarification came at Ubisoft’s Q3 2025-26 earnings report on Feb 12, in which it announced its intention to reduce 200 positions at its France headquarters.

This became a tipping point for workers who had already been striking against Ubisoft’s September 2024 back-to-office mandate. A union representative at Solidares Informatique at Ubisoft Paris told GamesIndustry.biz that around 1,200 workers would take part in a multi-day strike from February 10 to February 12.

But, Ubisoft later confirmed that only 538 staff had been reported as on strike, issuing an official statement, as reported by GamesIndustry.biz.

Photo by GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT on Getty Images

What are Ubisoft’s future plans?

The announcement in question is Ubisoft’s Jan 21 notice, which announced a reset of the organization to generate cash. In it, Yves Guillemot, Founder & CEO, Ubisoft, noted that at the center of this transformation would be its five “Creative Houses” (CH), which are integrated business units under which the company will combine production and game publishing.

Creative House 1: Vantage Studios, focusing on Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six
Creative House 2: Competitive & cooperative shooter experience
Creative House 3: Operation on select Live Experiences like The Crew, Riders Republic, etc.
Creative House 4: Immersive fantasy worlds like Prince of Persia
Creative House 5: Casual and family-friendly games.

More Employment:

For these CHs to be successful, Ubisoft will have dedicated heads working and responsible for their portfolio’s success. CEO Guillemot reflected that while the move is “radical,” the aim is to ensure “faster decision making” and create “best-in-class cross-functional core services supporting and serving each Creative House.”

The game maker also mandated again a “return to five days per week on site for all teams,” with an annual allowance for working-from-home days. The move represents a shift in the company’s work culture to ensure the future success of the CHs and to increase the “collective dynamic across teams.”

Workers are not taking these moves in stride, but investors are rewarding them. While still not even close to its high of $3.35 recorded in March 2025, it did gain 5% on Friday, Feb 12, post-earnings release, helping it reach a modest $1.04, a much-needed boost considering the stock has been down 28% year-to-date.

Ubisoft Earnings: Why Assassin’s Creed is at the center

Ubisoft’s earnings update provided a deeper insight into the company’s reorganization tactic and its decision to rely on its most bankable franchises.

In its Q3, Ubisoft reported net bookings of €338 million, up 12% year over year. This performance was primarily driven by partnerships and the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Its back catalog performance also improved this quarter, up 11% year over year to €297 million, driven by Assassin’s Creed, Avatar, and The Division.

Ubisoft also noted its continued reliance on digital sales, noting €256 million in digital net sales, accounting for 76% of its net bookings.

It noted 34 million console and PC monthly active users, with 130 million unique active users in Q3 2025.

However, much to the dismay of gamers and fans of the franchise, Ubisoft announced the discontinuation of 6 games because they did not meet the new enhanced quality standards. Guillemot had earlier commented on the AAA industry being a double-edged sword.

With this in context, Ubisoft discontinued its Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake, 4 unannounced titles, including 3 new IPs (Intellectual Property), and a mobile title.

And the company will now allocate development time to 7 games to ensure they meet quality benchmarks and that Ubisoft can maximize “long-term value creation” through them. But these titles, initially set for 2026, have been delayed to fiscal year 2027.

As part of the “rightsizing,” Ubisoft:

Closed Halifax mobile studio
Closed Stockholm studio
Is Restructuring at Abu Dhabi, RedLync, and Massive

Ubisoft expects these restructurings to reduce fixed costs by at least €100 million, with full achievement by March 2026. It mentioned the same in its Q3 report, expecting €1.25 billion to €1.35 billion in consolidated cash and cash equivalents at the end of March 2026, “fully available to serve debt maturities.”

For now, it’s looking forward to its Q4 lineup amidst employee backlash, which includes Rainbow Six Mobile, set to launch on February 23, and Division Resurgence, with a date yet to be announced.