Ubisoft Cancels Six Games and Cuts Outlook in Major Overhaul

Ubisoft, the French video game company behind Assassin's Creed, said on Wednesday it is canceling six games and changing its full structure to focus on better games and lower costs. The moves come as part of a big reset that starts in early April, with the company splitting into five separate units called Creative Houses. Shares in Ubisoft dropped 33 percent after the news.

Background

Ubisoft has faced tough times over the past few years. Game launches like recent Assassin's Creed titles did not do as well as hoped, and the company's stock value fell a lot. Last year, it got a big investment of 1.16 billion euros from China's Tencent to set up a new studio group called Vantage Studios. That helped with cash, but problems kept coming.

The company has been cutting costs since 2023. It aimed to save 100 million euros by this March, and now plans to cut another 200 million over the next two years. Some studios closed already, like the one in Halifax for mobile games and another in Stockholm. Other places saw job cuts, including Abu Dhabi, RedLynx, and Massive.

This latest plan builds on all that. Ubisoft's leaders say they want to make the company more focused on what players want. They call it a way to get back to strong growth and steady money coming in. The changes mean working in the office five days a week for all teams, and closing more studios if needed.

Key Details

The main change is splitting Ubisoft into five Creative Houses. Each one will handle its own games from start to finish, including sales and budgets. Leaders in each house will get paid based on how well their games do with players.

The Five Creative Houses

• Vantage Studios: This one, backed by Tencent, will handle the biggest brands like Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six. The goal is to make them into huge yearly hits worth billions.
• The other four focus on different types: multiplayer shooters, live service games that keep updating, story-based games, and casual or family games.

Ubisoft canceled six projects that did not meet their quality standards. That list includes the remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, three unannounced new games, and a mobile title. They also pushed back seven other games to give them more time to improve.

On money, things look rough for now. For 2026, Ubisoft now expects to bring in 1.5 billion euros in net bookings, down from 1.9 billion before. It will lose about 1 billion euros at the operating level, hit hard by 650 million from the canceled and delayed games. Debt could be 150 to 250 million euros by year end, with cash at 1.25 to 1.35 billion. Free cash flow will be negative 400 to 500 million euros.

The company dropped its outlook for 2026-27 and will give new plans in May. It may sell some assets to help with money.

"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 reduction initiatives to rightsize the organization." – Yves Guillemot, Ubisoft CEO

"There are some people who will be refocused on other big projects, and some may leave the company." – Frederick Duguet, Ubisoft CFO

Layoffs will come with the cuts. The company already closed two studios this month and did more changes at others. More job losses are expected as they shrink the team to fit the new plan.

What This Means

For Ubisoft workers, this means uncertainty. Hundreds could lose jobs as projects end and studios close. The return-to-office rule will change daily life for those who stay, with everyone back full time.

Players might see fewer new games soon, but the ones that come out should be better. Big franchises like Assassin's Creed will get more push, aiming for regular releases. Delays on seven titles mean waiting longer, but Ubisoft says it will help quality.

On the business side, the lower money targets show short-term pain. Investors reacted badly, with shares down a third in one day. Over time, the company hopes the new setup will make it faster and more nimble in a tough market where only top games win big.

The gaming world is changing fast. Big budget games cost more to make, and players pick fewer titles. Ubisoft's reset tries to match that by focusing on what works best. It also looks at selling parts of the business if needed to stay afloat.

This plan has been in the works for a year. By grouping teams by game type, Ubisoft thinks it can make quicker choices and spot problems early. Each house owns its full path to players, which should build stronger ties.

The cost cuts add up to 500 million euros saved since 2023. That includes stopping hires and trimming across all areas. Ubisoft says this will make it leaner and ready for growth later.

For the industry, this shows big publishers rethinking how they work. Others have done similar cuts, but Ubisoft's split into houses is a bold step. It bets on a few strong areas instead of spreading thin.