Ubisoft Layoffs: Gaming Giant Cuts 380 Jobs, Shuts 2 Studios in Canada and Serbia

Ubisoft is closing two of its international development studios and downsizing a third in a restructuring move that will eliminate roughly 380 jobs. The video game publisher is entirely shutting down Ubisoft Winnipeg in Canada and Ubisoft Belgrade in Serbia, while narrowing the operational focus of Ubisoft Barcelona. The workforce reductions also extend to Ubisoft's Global Publishing team and its major Canadian hub, Ubisoft Montreal. Employees were reportedly notified of the decisions during internal meetings this week.

Scope of the Studio Closures

The two shuttered locations primarily served as support pipelines for Ubisoft’s larger, flagship projects. Ubisoft Winnipeg functioned as a technology-centric operation, focusing on the development of the company’s proprietary Anvil and Snowdrop game engines. Layoffs: US Proptech Firm Opendoor Shuts India Operations, Cuts 250 Jobs As Part of Smaller AI-Native Transition.

Ubisoft Belgrade operated with a broader portfolio of co-development credits. Over its tenure, the Serbian studio contributed to major Ubisoft intellectual properties, including Ghost Recon Wildlands, The Crew 2, and Skull and Bones. Neither studio led its own standalone franchise, meaning their closures mark a significant reduction in Ubisoft's internal co-development infrastructure.

Impact on Existing Franchises

While Ubisoft Barcelona will remain open, its structural footprint is being heavily reduced. Moving forward, the studio will shift its resources exclusively toward supporting and developing titles within the Rainbow Six franchise. Xbox Layoffs: Microsoft Gaming Division Announces Major Job Cuts and Budget Slashes, Say Reports.

Concurrently, the layoffs have impacted Ubisoft Montreal, specifically touching developers on the live-service shooter Rainbow Six Siege and its upcoming mobile counterpart, Rainbow Six Siege Mobile. The decision to trim staff from a consistently profitable live-service title like Siege while simultaneously consolidating the Barcelona studio around it indicates a shifting tactical approach to managing the franchise.

A Continuing Trend in 2026

This round of redundancies represents the third major wave of layoffs enacted by Ubisoft within the first six months of 2026.

Earlier this year, the publisher closed its Halifax and Stockholm branches, alongside executing staff reductions at Ubisoft Abu Dhabi, Redlynx, and Massive Entertainment. In March, over 100 employees were dismissed from Red Storm Entertainment, a studio historically known for the Ghost Recon series, which subsequently ceased independent game production.

Strategic Alignment With Tencent and Vantage Studios

Industry analysts view the continuous down-scaling as part of a broader corporate realignment linked to a $1.3 billion investment secured from Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent late last year.

That capital influx led to the creation of Vantage Studios, a subsidiary dedicated to overseeing Ubisoft’s three primary revenue-generating pillars: Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six. Tencent holds a 25% stake in Vantage, which operates under a decentralized model led by Christophe Derennes and Charlie Guillemot.

The ongoing closures suggest that Ubisoft is aggressively shedding peripheral operations and support networks to prioritize high-earning core intellectual properties under this new organizational structure. Ubisoft has not yet issued a public statement regarding the closures.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 11, 2026 08:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).