According to IGN, Ubisoft has proposed cutting up to 200 jobs at its Paris headquarters, where it currently employs about 1,100 people. This comes just one week after the company announced the cancellation of six games, including the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake, and the closure of studios in Stockholm and Halifax. Ubisoft’s stock price plunged 40% following last week’s announcements and is now down a staggering 95% from its peak in January 2021. The proposed Paris cuts would be handled through a French voluntary mutual termination agreement, known as a Rupture Conventionnelle Collective (RCC). Ubisoft confirmed the proposal applies only to its international division employees on French contracts and requires agreement with worker representatives. An actress who worked on the canceled Prince of Persia remake said she discovered the project was axed by reading the news online, losing three years of work.
The Human Cost of Restructuring
Here’s the thing: a “voluntary” mutual termination agreement sounds better than a straight layoff, but the pressure to accept can be immense. When a company publicly states it needs to cut 200 heads from a specific office, the writing is on the wall. The environment becomes toxic, and the “choice” feels like an illusion. And the anecdote from the Prince of Persia actress is just brutal—finding out your major project is dead via the internet is a devastating way to learn your work has been scrapped. It speaks to a profound communication breakdown, or worse, a simple disregard for the people behind the pixels. This isn’t just about spreadsheets; it’s about hundreds of careers and years of creative effort being abruptly written off.
A Company in Freefall
Let’s be real: a 95% drop in stock value from its 2021 high is a catastrophe. It’s a number that screams of deep, systemic issues far beyond “post-pandemic adjustments.” Last week’s bloodbath—closing studios, canceling games, delaying seven more—was a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding. Now, targeting the corporate HQ in Paris feels like the next logical, grim step. They’re cutting to the bone. And while they claim this RCC proposal was decided before mandating a five-day office work week, the timing is awful. It creates a perfect storm of uncertainty and resentment. Why would you fight a return-to-office mandate if you think your job might be on the chopping block anyway?
What’s Left to Save?
So what’s the strategy here? Basically, it seems Ubisoft is betting everything on its few remaining mega-franchises—Assassin’s Creed, Rainbow Six, Star Wars Outlaws—and trying to shed everything else that’s a cost center. But that’s a huge gamble. You can’t just become a factory for three or four games. Creativity and innovation get stifled, and the next big hit never gets born. They’re delaying an unannounced title, widely believed to be an Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag remaster, which tells you even their “sure things” aren’t ready. The entire model is under siege. When your value evaporates that dramatically, every decision from here looks reactive, not visionary. Can a company this large and wounded actually pivot to stability? I’m not sure anyone has the answer right now.
