Tencent Shuts Down Timi Montreal, Developer of Call of Duty Mobile

by Jonathan Dubinski February 24, 2026

written by Jonathan Dubinski February 24, 2026

Key Takeaways

Created with AI - we're still experimenting, so apologies if it misses the mark

Tencent has closed down TiMi Montreal, a studio founded in 2021 and led by Ashraf Ismail, previously creative director at Ubisoft.
The closure was confirmed by Álvaro Fernández Luzuriaga, former senior gameplay programmer at TiMi Montreal, who mentioned that discussions about the studios fate had been ongoing for weeks.
TiMi Montreal primarily contributed to projects like Pokémon Unite and Call of Duty Mobile but never released its own title.
Tencent is shifting focus to Wildlight Entertainments Highguard development, with TiMi Studio Group being the primary financial backer for Wildlight. The exact number of employees affected by the closure remains unknown.

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On February 20, Tencent announced the closure of TiMi Montreal, a studio founded in 2021. Led by Ashraf Ismail, formerly a creative director at Ubisoft known for his work on the Assassin’s Creed franchise, the studio aimed to develop AAA open-world multiplatform games. TiMi Montreal primarily served as a support studio, contributing to projects like Pokémon Unite and Call of Duty Mobile, and never released its own title. News of the closure broke last week. Game File subsequently reported the information, which had initially surfaced on LinkedIn. Álvaro Fernández Luzuriaga, former senior gameplay programmer at TiMi Montreal, confirmed the closure in a LinkedIn post, noting that discussions about the studio’s fate had been ongoing for weeks. While the LinkedIn post is no longer publicly visible, Luzuriaga told Game File that knowing the closure was coming did not make it any easier. In 2020, TiMi Montreal hired Ashraf Ismail after he left Ubisoft. Team Kaiju, TiMi Montreal’s Los Angeles-based studio that had recruited former leads from Halo and Battlefield, shut down in 2023.

Tencent Ends TiMi Montreal, Shifts Focus to Wildlight Entertainment’s Highguard Development

Game File reports that TiMi Studio Group is the primary financial backer for Wildlight Entertainment, the developer of Highguard. Neither Tencent nor TiMi Studio Group has made a formal announcement about the closure. According to Luzuriaga’s LinkedIn profile, TiMi Montreal had been working on an unannounced game using Unreal Engine 5. The exact number of employees affected by the closure is unknown. [Irrelevant content removed: Kotaku review dates, crowdfunding campaign, PlayersForLife Games channels, and Portal Uai disclaimer.] The closure of TiMi Montreal, less than five years after its founding, ends the team’s work on a service-based adventure game designed for multiple platforms.