Key Takeaways
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- Ubisoft is restructuring into five independent entities, each focusing on a specific game genre and responsible for their own strategic plans, community engagement, and monetization.
- The company is making changes to improve long-term player engagement and focus on open-world adventures, while also isolating risk to avoid problems impacting the entire group.
- Six games in development have been cancelled, including a remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, due to not meeting Ubisofts quality standards. Seven other games are being delayed for further development and refinement.
- Ubisoft plans to cut additional costs totaling 200 million by March 2028, through studio closures, reorganizations, and a new policy requiring employees to work on-site five days a week, in an effort to enhance profitability and foster teamwork. These changes are projected to impact Ubisofts financial outlook for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
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On January 21, 2026, Ubisoft announced a major restructuring, its first significant change since the Guillemot brothers founded the company 35 years prior. The company will divide into five independent entities, each with its own leadership, strategic plans, and budget. This restructuring aims to focus on open-world adventures and games designed for long-term player engagement, while also isolating risk, so that problems in one area do not impact the entire group. This new structure decentralizes decision-making, bringing it closer to the teams responsible for revenue generation. Each division will specialize in a specific game genre, developing its own plans for game development, community engagement, and monetization.
Ubisoft will divide its game development portfolio among five creative houses. Vantage Studios will oversee major franchises such as Assassin’s Creed and Rainbow Six. Creative House 2 will concentrate on shooter games, including Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell. Creative House 3 will manage live-service games like The Crew and Skull & Bones. Creative House 4 will focus on narrative-driven and fantasy games, such as Beyond Good & Evil and Rayman. Creative House 5 will handle casual mobile games like Just Dance. Each house will have its own director and objectives, but will share resources and support to enhance collaboration. The company has not yet announced any game cancellations or layoffs associated with this restructuring.
Concurrent with the restructuring announcement, Ubisoft also announced the cancellation of six games in development, including the remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, four unannounced titles, and one mobile game. Ubisoft stated that it is committed to releasing only games that meet its elevated quality standards, and that the Prince of Persia remake did not meet that criteria. Additionally, Ubisoft is delaying the release of seven games to allow for further development and refinement. While the specific titles have not been disclosed, a remake of Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag is widely rumored to be among them. According to Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, these decisions are projected to result in a negative EBIT of 1 billion for the current fiscal year. Further layoffs are also expected.
In an effort to enhance profitability, Ubisoft plans to cut an additional 200 million in costs by March 2028, in addition to the 3,000 jobs already cut to save 300 million. These cost-saving measures include studio closures and reorganizations in Halifax, Stockholm, Abu Dhabi, RedLynx, and Massive Entertainment. Additionally, Ubisoft is implementing a new policy requiring employees to work on-site five days a week, with limited remote work options, in an effort to foster teamwork and knowledge sharing in the competitive AAA game market. These portfolio adjustments are expected to impact Ubisoft’s financial outlook. For the 2025-26 fiscal year, Ubisoft projects sales of approximately 1.5 billion, 330 million less than previous targets, and anticipates a non-IFRS EBIT loss of approximately 1 billion. Ubisoft projects free cash flow to be between 400 and 500 million, with non-IFRS net debt estimated between 150 and 250 million. Despite these challenges, Ubisoft’s long-term strategy focuses on sustainable growth and strong cash flow, enabling its creative teams to innovate and respond swiftly to player feedback through a decentralized structure focused on specific genres.
Transforming Ubisoft’s Landscape: Five Independent Entities for Creative Innovation and Financial Stability (Risks Ahead)
This strategic shift marks a new phase for Ubisoft, in which the parent company will oversee five independently operated entities. While this decentralization aims to foster creative innovation and financial resilience, it also presents potential risks for employees and short-term finances. The cancellation of anticipated titles like Prince of Persia and ongoing layoffs highlight the challenges in the company’s pursuit of renewed leadership in the creative and financial sectors. The coming months will reveal whether this specialization and decentralization can restore Ubisoft’s position as a global leader in AAA game development.
In Case You Missed It
Midway through our discussion on Ubisoft’s recent developments, we were drawn to Carlos Mendoza’s insightful piece, “Ubisoft Cancels Prince of Persia Remake in New Company Restructuring”, which explores the French publisher’s strategic overhaul. In this comprehensive article, you’ll find out how Ubisoft has divided itself into five creative houses, each with a specific focus and unprecedented freedom, leading to some surprising cancellations like the much-anticipated remake of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Ubisoft Cancels Prince of Persia Remake in New Company Restructuring. Meanwhile, in other news, Carlos Mendoza’s recent piece “Company Resumes Operations After GTA 6 Explosion” from the same day reports that Rockstar North swiftly returned to operations after a minor boiler room explosion at their offices, with no injuries reported and no impact on the upcoming GTA 6’s release Company Resumes Operations After GTA 6 Explosion. If Ubisoft’s recent track record has piqued your interest, be sure to check out Sophie Laurent’s latest piece, “Beyond Good & Evil 2 Survives Ubisoft’s Cuts”, which delves into the surprising resilience of this long-standing project amidst a wave of cancellations Beyond Good & Evil 2 Survives Ubisoft’s Cuts.