Ubisoft is reportedly experiencing a wave of internal turmoil, which is said to have reached a point where employees are openly “joking” senior management, according to an established company insider. The unrest is understood to stem from Ubisoft's ongoing restructuring efforts.
In recent years, Ubisoft has faced growing business challenges after several big budget titles underperformed. Tencent, already a minority shareholder, eased some of the financial pressure that came with a €1.2 billion (~$1.25 billion) lifeline given last October in exchange for a roughly 26% stake in a new Ubisoft subsidiary called Vantage Studios, which now oversees the company's most valuable franchise: Assassin's Creed, Rainbow Sixand Far Cry. Three months later, Ubisoft announced a wider restructuring, reorganizing its operations into five Creative Houses, Vantage being the first. At the same time, the company announced a doubling of cost savings and issued a mandate to return to the office, citing the need to better “support” the implementation of the new structure.
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The latest wave of changes is said to have upset a significant number of employees. Longtime Ubisoft insider Tom Henderson reports that the company's internal communications have been full of messages from disgruntled staff since January 21, saying some of them are openly “shaming senior management and asking for change.” According to his sources, a number of existing employees described the latest round of restructuring and cost-cutting as the last straw that prompted them to start looking for a new job. Henderson concluded that the current atmosphere points to a “massive exodus of talent” that is on the horizon, regardless of any layoffs from Ubisoft that are planned in the near future.
Ubisoft may have anticipated current employee backlash
Given the unilateral and absolute return-to-the-office (RTO) mandate issued by Ubisoft earlier this week, there's a non-zero chance that the current employee backlash is an expected—or even intended—outcome by management. Although RTO mandates are rarely stated outright, they are a well-documented and effective method of encouraging so-called “soft layoffs,” especially when companies seek to reduce the number of employees without incurring the financial costs of formal layoffs. A 2024 study by Bamboo HR found that one in four US C-suite executives admitted they hoped for some degree of voluntary turnover when implementing such assignments. With Ubisoft already signaling plans for further layoffs later in 2026, it is likely that the company would not be opposed to some staff choosing to leave voluntarily in the near future.
Meanwhile, the company is facing renewed financial pressure. Ubisoft shares are currently at a 15-year low following continued investor selling, largely driven by uncertainty about the group's long-term outlook. This decline makes financing projects through borrowing more expensive, not least because equity-based collateral loses value. It also hinders talent acquisition and retention, especially for senior positions that often rely heavily on stock-based compensation.
By the end of 2024, Ubisoft had over 18,600 employees. As of early 2026, that number is still north of 17,000, making it the sixth largest game publisher in the world by number of employees. While it's unclear how much further the company plans to cut staff, it has repeatedly emphasized the need to reduce headcount and improve operational efficiency. The latest restructuring also led to the long-awaited cancellation Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake, along with five other titles. One of these is said to be a mobile game, according to a report from Jason Schreier on January 21. The remaining four have not been identified by any credible source.
The ongoing restructuring also led Ubisoft to delay seven projects originally scheduled for release in fiscal year 2026. Each of them has been moved to the following fiscal year, which spans from April 2026 to March 2027. It has long been rumored Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag remake is believed to be among them.
