Ubisoft has closed its Halifax, Canada studio, a move that will affect around 70 employees. The company says the decision is unrelated to the studio’s recent unionization efforts.
According to coverage from VGC, Ubisoft informed staff via email on Wednesday that Ubisoft Halifax would be shut down as part of broader cost-cutting and restructuring across the company. The studio was best known for its work on Assassin’s Creed Rebellion, a free-to-play mobile strategy RPG that launched in 2018.
The closure comes just weeks after roughly 60 employees at Ubisoft Halifax voted to unionize under the Game & Media Workers Guild of Canada. Ubisoft told VGC that the decision to close the studio had been made “well before” the union was formed and stated that it “fully respects” employees’ right to unionize.
“Over the past 24 months, Ubisoft has undertaken company-wide actions to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and reduce costs,” a Ubisoft spokesperson told VGC. “As part of this, Ubisoft has made the difficult decision to close its Halifax studio.”
Ubisoft confirmed that 71 positions will be impacted by the closure. “We are committed to supporting all impacted team members during this transition with resources, including comprehensive severance packages and additional career assistance,” the spokesperson said.
While Assassin’s Creed Rebellion has been live since 2018, VGC reports that its revenues have steadily declined. Ubisoft recently ended live operations for the game and stopped producing new content, which appears to have factored into the decision to shut down the studio.
The closure follows a turbulent period for the publisher. Late last year, Ubisoft announced the creation of a new subsidiary, Vantage Studios, which oversees many of its major franchises. The entity is part-owned by Tencent, which holds a 25% stake and serves in an advisory role. Final creative and business decisions remain with co-CEOs Christophe Derennes and Charlie Guillemot.
Ubisoft has said the restructuring is part of a broader shift toward a less centralized operating model, giving individual teams more ownership over the franchises they work on.
How do you feel about Ubisoft’s decision to close its Halifax studio? Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned to Noisy Pixel for more coverage.
