Ubisoft Promised Cost Reductions & Delivered by Shutting Down Its Halifax Studio
The studio was let go of soon after forming a union.
Ubisoft
Last year, Ubisoft presented its Cost Reduction Plan, and we all knew back then that some people would lose their jobs in this effort to cut costs. Over the last couple of years, it has closed several studios, including Massive Entertainment, Ubisoft RedLynx, and Ubisoft London, and it has no plans to stop, it seems.
The company has shut down Ubisoft Halifax, which was working on mobile titles for Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six and Assassin's Creed, leaving 71 employees without work.
“Over the past 24 months, Ubisoft has undertaken company-wide actions to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and reduce costs," Ubisoft said. "As part of this, Ubisoft has made the difficult decision to close its Halifax studio. 71 positions will be affected. We are committed to supporting all impacted team members during this transition with resources, including comprehensive severance packages and additional career assistance.”
Perhaps it was truly to streamline operations, but some people suspect there was another reason: the Halifax studio has recently formed a union, and Ubisoft had some issues with such organizations in the past, especially in France, where it was accused of crunch and mismanagement, with its workers going on strikes and even suing the company for over its return to the office policy.
However, Ubisoft claims that the decision had nothing to do with this: a spokesperson told Gamesindustry.biz that the closure was the result of cost-cutting that started soon after the pandemic, way before the Halifax unionization process started in 2025, and that "the company continued to recognise and work with unionised staff globally."
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