Ubisoft initiates a major strategic turning point
Ubisoft has formalized one of the biggest organizational upheavals in its recent history. In an official press release, the French publisher revealed the first details of its new structure called Creative House, while confirming the cancellation of several projects, the postponement of several games, as well as a final wave of cost reductions. This transformation will be accompanied by studio closures, a widespread return to face-to-face work and a heavy financial impact in the short term, with an operational loss estimated at nearly a billion euros for the 2026 fiscal year..
According to Ubisoft, the aim of this maneuver is to regain a creative leadership position and return to sustainable growth in a AAA market that has become more selective and more competitive. The firm specifies that if the improvements made to production processes have made it possible to raise the quality of games in 2025, the current context requires going much further, both creatively and structurally.
Five Creative Houses for a decentralized organization
At the heart of this transformation is the famous Creative Houses model mentioned. This one is structured around five Creative Houses which will take office at the beginning of April 2026. These units will now bring together production and distribution, with full creative and financial responsibility over their respective portfolios.
The distribution is as follows:
- Creative House 1 – Vantage Studios: Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Rainbow Six
- Creative House 2: competitive and cooperative shooters (The Division, Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell)
- Creative House 3: targeted live experiences (For Honor, The Crew, Riders Republic, Brawlhalla, Skull and Bones)
- Creative House 4: narrative universes and fantastic worlds (Prince of Persia, Rayman, Anno, Might & Magic, Beyond Good & Evil)
- Creative House 5: casual and family games (Just Dance, UNO, Hungry Shark, Hasbro licenses)
Four new licenses are also in development, including March of Giants, the MOBA recently purchased from Amazon Games.
Canceled projects and postponed games
As part of the refocusing of its portfolio, Ubisoft confirms it has stopped development of six gamesof which :
- Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake
- Four unannounced titles, including three new licenses
- A mobile game
At the same time, seven games will benefit from additional development time, including a title initially planned for fiscal year 2026, now postponed to fiscal year 2027, in order to guarantee reinforced quality standards according to Ubisoft. Apart from official statements, Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier indicates that one of the seven postponed games would be the remake of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag.
BREAKING: Ubisoft is canceling the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake and 5 other games (4 unannounced, 1 mobile). The company says it is also delaying 7 games (including an unannounced project believed to be a Black Flag remake) as part of a larger restructuring.
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier.bsky.social) 2026-01-21T16:45:19.603Z
The cancellation of the remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time will surely be a shock for many fans, especially since many leaks estimated a release in January 2026. Schreier explained that Ubisoft was unhappy with the state of the game and decided to cancel it as part of this major restructuring.
A restructuring which risks being very heavy
This transformation is accompanied by an acceleration of cost reduction measures. Ubisoft confirms the closure of studios in Halifax (mobile) and Stockholm (a decision already reported earlier this month), as well as restructurings at Abu Dhabi, RedLynx and Massive. The group is now targeting 200 million euros in additional savings over the next two years, bringing the cumulative reduction in fixed costs to around 500 million euros by March 2028.
However, we imagine that the fallout from this upheaval will be accompanied by other future closures and new waves of layoffs. The publisher now intends to concentrate its resources mainly around open-world adventure games and Games-as-a-Service games, while relying on technological investments such as “player-oriented generative AI”.
Often criticized for its sanitized open worlds and its game-services using hackneyed or poorly exploited concepts (XDefiant), it will be interesting to see if this shift will pay off in the long term. Even if we agree that Ubisoft needed a major restructuring, we are not sure that the direction taken is the best. Time will tell.