Ubisoft Shutters Studios in Winnipeg and Belgrade as Restructuring Claims Another 380 Jobs
French video game giant Ubisoft has announced the closure of two development studios as part of its ongoing global restructuring efforts, marking the sixth major round of layoffs since early 2024. The company confirmed that its facilities in Winnipeg, Canada, and Belgrade, Serbia, will be permanently shuttered, putting approximately 380 employees at risk of losing their jobs. This latest wave of cuts represents another painful chapter in what has become one of the most turbulent periods in the publisher’s nearly four-decade history.
The Winnipeg studio, which opened in 2021 during the pandemic-era gaming boom, primarily served as a support facility working on various Ubisoft franchises. The Belgrade office, established to tap into Eastern Europe’s growing pool of development talent, similarly contributed to the company’s sprawling portfolio of games. Both locations employed a mix of programmers, artists, quality assurance testers, and other development staff who now face an uncertain future in an increasingly competitive job market. Ubisoft has stated it will work with affected employees to explore transfer opportunities within the company where possible.
The closures come amid a broader crisis facing Ubisoft, which has struggled to recapture its former glory in recent years. The company’s stock price has plummeted dramatically from its 2018 highs, and several high-profile releases have failed to meet commercial expectations. Titles like “Skull and Bones,” which spent over a decade in development hell before finally launching to mixed reviews, and the underperforming “Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora” have raised serious questions about the company’s creative direction and project management capabilities. The postponement of “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” to February 2025, after significant controversy surrounding the game’s historical accuracy, further compounded investor concerns.
Industry analysts suggest that Ubisoft’s troubles reflect deeper structural issues within the AAA gaming sector. The company expanded aggressively during the COVID-19 pandemic when gaming revenues soared, hiring thousands of new employees across its global network of over 40 studios. However, as the post-pandemic market normalized and development costs continued to escalate, many publishers found themselves overextended. Ubisoft is far from alone in this predicament — competitors like Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive, and even industry leader Microsoft have all announced significant workforce reductions in recent months as the sector undergoes a painful correction.
The human cost of these layoffs extends beyond simple employment statistics. Game development workers often face unique challenges when seeking new positions, including geographic constraints tied to studio locations and highly specialized skill sets that may not transfer easily to other industries. The closure of the Winnipeg studio is particularly notable given Canada’s reputation as a global gaming hub, with cities like Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver hosting major development operations. Provincial tax incentives have made Canada an attractive destination for gaming companies, but even these benefits cannot fully insulate workers from industry-wide turbulence.
Ubisoft’s leadership has framed these restructuring moves as necessary steps to ensure the company’s long-term viability and competitiveness. CEO Yves Guillemot, who co-founded the company with his brothers in 1986, has faced mounting pressure from shareholders and even hostile takeover interest from private equity firms. The Guillemot family has been actively working to maintain control of the company while implementing cost-cutting measures designed to improve profitability. Reports suggest that Tencent, the Chinese gaming conglomerate that already holds a minority stake in Ubisoft, may be interested in increasing its investment, adding another layer of uncertainty to the company’s future ownership structure.
Looking ahead, Ubisoft’s fate may largely depend on the performance of its upcoming releases, particularly “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” and the next entry in the Far Cry franchise. The company has also invested heavily in free-to-play titles and mobile gaming as potential growth areas, though success in these highly competitive markets is far from guaranteed. For the 380 employees in Winnipeg and Belgrade now facing layoffs, however, corporate strategy discussions offer little consolation. Their immediate concern is finding new employment in an industry that has shed an estimated 20,000 jobs globally since early 2023, making this one of the most challenging periods for game development professionals in recent memory.
The broader implications of Ubisoft’s continued downsizing raise important questions about sustainability in the video game industry. As development budgets balloon into the hundreds of millions of dollars and production cycles stretch across half a decade or more, the margin for error has shrunk dramatically. Studios that once could absorb an occasional commercial disappointment now find themselves facing existential threats from a single underperforming title. Whether Ubisoft can successfully navigate this treacherous landscape while maintaining its position as one of the world’s largest independent game publishers remains an open question that will likely take years to fully answer.