Ubisoft's CEO addresses employee concerns about the company's future

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot addressed some employees' concerns about the company's future as part of an internal memo that was quickly leaked to the public. These internal questions about Ubisoft's future prospects were collected as part of its latest annual employee survey.

Ubisoft has had a rough streak in recent years, with many of its big budget projects underperforming. Its struggle has intensified since the beginning of 2024, which Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Skull and bonesand Star Wars Outlaws not all met sales expectations. XDefiantThe company's free-to-play military shooter released in May 2024 also underperformed, highlighted by the fact that Ubisoft has already decided to end it in June 2025. As a result, the group's San Francisco and Osaka studios that worked on the game will be closed, and about half of their employees are expected to be laid off.

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Ubisoft is exploring “strategic options” for its future

In the wake of weak financial results and a rumored Tencent purchase, Ubisoft reiterates that it is “reviewing strategic options” for the future.

Hot on the heels of XDefiant Announcing the suspension, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot sent a company-wide memo reflecting on some of the group's recent struggles, which was then leaked to Insider Gaming. Guillemot acknowledged that many Ubisoft employees have raised questions and concerns about the company's future, citing the results of its most recent annual experience survey, which had an 86% response rate and generated over 55,000 comments. For reference, Ubisoft's current workforce is in the ballpark of 21,000, which comes out to 2.6 comments per employee.

Ubisoft still strives to maintain control over its future

“I want you to know that all my energy is focused on finding ways to guide Ubisoft through these turbulent times,” Guillemot wrote, adding that he and his team are still “working tirelessly” to identify “the best solutions so that we can maintain control over our destiny.” To this end, the company will soon introduce several initiatives to address questions raised by employees in the annual experience survey. These efforts will aim to streamline development and “bring back a day-to-day focus on creation,” a goal Ubisoft already emphasized when it launched an investigation into its practices in September 2024.

Guillemot's memo also saw him note the decision to ax XDefiant and closing its studios in San Francisco and Osaka as “difficult”, admitting that the company's intense efforts to challenge Call of Duty was not enough, while thanking everyone involved in the project for their contributions.

All eyes are now on Assassin's Creed Shadows

All of Ubisoft's near-term hopes of breaking out of its current rut rest squarely on the shoulders of the recently delayed Assassin's Creed Shadowswhich is currently aiming for a February 14th release. The latest major entry in the series, AC Valhallagenerated over $1 billion in revenue, a figure no Ubisoft title has approached since. But Valhalla was also supported by the global pandemic, which was a huge boon for the gaming industry at large. Therefore, just matching its success can be a challenging task for Assassin's Creed Shadows although the game turns out to be amazing in every respect.

Ubisoft

Ubisoft is a well-known video game developer and publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé, France. Current CEO Yves Guillemot runs a series of teams responsible for some of the most iconic and well-known series in video games, with franchises such as Assassin's Creed, Farcry, The Crew, Just Dance and more. Ubisoft also serves as the parent company for a number of other video game developers, including names like Massive Entertainment, Ubisoft Paris, Blue Mammoth Games, Red Storm Entertainment and more.

Date founded

March 28, 1986

Head office

Saint Mande, France

CEO

Yves Guillemot