Assassin’s Creed publisher Ubisoft has detailed a “major reset” for the company that will see its creative operations split into five separate divisions.
The organizational restructuring, which has been in the works for a year, is designed to help the French publisher “reclaim its creative leadership” and “drive a sharp rebound”, it said on Tuesday, following a turbulent few years of disappointing launches and plummeting stock value, which recently resulted in a minority sale to Tencent.
As a result, six games have been cancelled, seven delayed, and two studios closed, the company confirmed during a media briefing attended by VGC.
The six cancelled games did not meet Ubisoft’s new ‘enhanced’ quality expectations, it said, including the much-delayed Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake, a mobile title, and four other unannounced games, including three original IPs.
In addition, Ubisoft said it’s delayed seven games in order to ensure they reach quality expectations. It did not say which games had slipped, but confirmed that the seven titles includes one title that was planned for release before April 2026, that will now release in before April 2027.
“Ubisoft has conducted a thorough review of its content pipeline over December and January,” the company said. “This has led to the strategic decision to refocus its portfolio, reallocate resources and comprehensively revise its roadmap over the next three years.
“This will support the objective to return to exceptional levels of quality on the Open-World Adventure segment and step-change the Group’s position in the GaaS-native experiences segment”.
Two studios were closed as part of the reset, Ubisoft said: its Halifax and Stockholm studios, which were previously announced. On a webcall listen to by VGC, the company said it would consider the sale of other assets, but did not clarify any specific information.
Ubisoft is accelerating its cost reduction initiatives, it said, and is now aiming to reduce its fixed costs by an additional €200 million over the next two years.
The company wouldn’t comment directly on the number of layoffs that could happen as a result of this restructuring, but in regards to cancelled projects, it said, “there are some people that will be refocused on other big projects, and some may leave the company”.
As previously confirmed, Ubisoft’s new operational model will be structured around multiple independent ‘creative houses’, the first of which is Vantage Studios, the subsidiary part-owned by Tencent opened last year, which will oversee Rainbow Six, Assassin’s Creed, and Far Cry.
On Tuesday, Ubisoft detailed the other ‘creative houses’ for the first time, which will each be organized around a distinct genre. They are (in addition to Vantage Studios):
- CH2, dedicated to “competitive and cooperative shooter experiences”, including The Division, Ghost Recon, and Splinter Cell.
- CH3, which will operate a roster of “select, sharp Live experiences”, such as For Honor, The Crew, Riders Republic, Brawlhalla, and Skull & Bones.
- CH4, which will focus on fantasy worlds and narrative-driven universes like Anno, Might & Magic, Rayman, Prince of Persia, and Beyond Good & Evil.
- CH5, which Ubisoft says is aimed at “reclaiming [our] position in casual and family-friendly games” in brands including Just Dance, Uno, and Hasbro.
In addition, Ubisoft has four new IPs currently in development, including the recently-acquired MOBA March of Giants, which is says will be assigned to a creative house at a later stage.
Each of the creative houses will have its own leadership and “end-to-end” responsibility for its portfolio, from development, to publishing, and financial accountability, which Ubisoft hopes will help it make better, faster decisions and lead to more hit games.
The creative houses will be supported by a ‘Creative Network’ team, which will share studio expertise and provide co-development support, as well as a ‘Core Services’ group, which will focus on technology, QA, localization, business planning, and more.
Specific development studios will be assigned to each creative house, Ubisoft said, while some will be assigned to the Creative Network team and work with multiple houses.
Yves Guillemot, founder and CEO of Ubisoft, said in a statement: “On the one hand, the AAA industry has become persistently more selective and competitive with rising development costs and greater challenges in creating brands. On the other hand, exceptional AAA games, when successful, have more financial potential than ever. In this context, today we are announcing a major reset built to create the conditions for a return to sustainable growth over time.
“We are transforming Ubisoft’s operating model to produce exceptional quality games on the two core pillars of our strategy, Open World Adventures and GaaS-native experiences. At the center of this transformation are our Creative Houses, integrated business units now combining production and publishing and therefore unifying the gamer relationship.
“Each one is built around a clear genre and brand focus, with full responsibility and financial ownership, led by dedicated leadership teams. It is a radical move, relying on a more decentralized creative organization with faster decision making and best-in-class cross functional core services supporting and serving each Creative House.”
He continued: “To put the Creative Houses in the best conditions to succeed, we decided to refocus our portfolio with a meaningfully revised 3-year roadmap and accelerate our cost reductions initiatives to rightsize the organization. We will discontinue several projects currently in development and provide additional time to certain games, to ensure enhanced quality and maximize long term value. We will also selectively close several studios and continue restructurings throughout the Group.
“While these decisions are difficult, they are necessary for us to build a more focused, efficient and sustainable organization over the long term. Taken together, these measures mark a decisive turning point for Ubisoft and reflect our determination to confront challenges head-on to reshape the Group for the long term.
“The portfolio refocus will have a significant impact on the Group’s short term financial trajectory, particularly in fiscal years 2026 and 2027, but this reset will strengthen the Group and enable it to renew with sustainable growth and robust cash generation. Ubisoft is entering a new phase – one designed to reclaim creative leadership and build value for players and stakeholders over the long term.”
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