PARIS, France: Ubisoft on Jan 21 ended a months-long wait for details of a restructuring the French games giant hopes will power it up to face a competitive market – at the price of a string of cancelled games and a new round of belt-tightening.
A wave of disappointed social media posts from fans mourned the highest-profile axed title, a remake of the beloved 2000s-era classic Prince of Persia: The Sands Of Time, which was cut after teams sunk several years into its development.
A further five games have been cancelled outright, including four unannounced titles and one mobile game, while seven more have been delayed.
The cuts and delays make up a large chunk of an expected €1bil (RM4.74bil) operating loss in Ubisoft's 2025-26 financial year.
But bosses say the spring cleaning of the group's pipeline is needed to refocus and get the reorganisation off on the right foot in a market that has become pickier and more competitive than ever.
Ubisoft's restructuring will farm out many of its dozens of studios worldwide into an industry-first system of five "creative houses", each dedicated to developing a different genre of game.
"Each one is built around a clear genre and brand focus, with full responsibility and financial ownership, led by dedicated leadership teams," chief executive Yves Guillemot said in a statement, calling the reorganisation a "radical move" for the group.
Billion-euro targets
The first of the houses, Vantage Studios, was unveiled in October and brings together the group's top-selling franchises: Assassin's Creed, Rainbow Six and Far Cry.
It aims to turn each into a €1bil (RM4.74bil)-per-year revenue machine.
Vantage was valued at €3.8bil (RM18.04bil), with Chinese Internet giant Tencent taking a 26% stake for €1.16bil (RM5.51bil).
Wednesday's announcement also detailed the four as-yet unnamed units: one covering shooter games like The Division or Ghost Recon; a second for multiplayer titles such as For Honor or The Crew; the third for fantasy worlds like Might And Magic and Prince Of Persia; and the fourth for casual or family games like Just Dance.
Ubisoft's five new units will divide around half the group's studios based around the world amongst themselves.
The remainder will form a global network offering support and specialist know-how to individual projects shepherded by the houses, studios chief Marie-Sophie de Waubert told AFP.
A similar service will take care of technology, production, marketing and distribution, while Ubisoft's HQ in Paris will set strategic priorities and allocate resources.
Bosses also want to slash working from home and reestablish five office days a week as the norm.
That may run into resistance from workers in France, who repeatedly walked out in 2024 to defend teleworking.
"This is completely gratuitous," said Vincent Cambedouzou, a representative of video game workers' union STJV at Ubisoft Paris.
He called the overall plan a "disaster" and a "conflict initiated by management", saying employees were "terrified as studios are closing one after another".
'Turning point'?
Ubisoft has already slashed around 3,000 jobs worldwide and closed several studios as part of a €300mil (RM1.42bil) cost-cutting drive.
It said Wednesday it was launching a "third and final phase" aimed at finding €200mil (RM949.32mil) of savings over two years and suggested "possible disposals of assets".
The company also announced the closure of its Stockholm studio and the transfer of its remaining employees to Massive, another Swedish subsidiary.
"Taken together, these measures mark a decisive turning point," Guillemot said.
Nevertheless, "the portfolio refocus will have a significant impact on the Group's short-term financial trajectory".
Ubisoft had until now forecast a roughly balanced financial result for its 2025-26 financial year.
It now expects an operating loss of €1bil (RM4.74bil) and a fall in its preferred "net bookings" revenue yardstick to around €1.5bil (RM7.12bil).
Ubisoft had aimed to return to operating profitability in 2026-27, but now says it will provide updated forecasts in May.
Caught up in broader headwinds for the games industry, the group's restructuring follows a string of setbacks in recent years including disappointing launches for new titles.
Ubisoft shares shed 51% of their value over the course of 2025. – AFP
