Ubisoft Toronto Lays Off 40 Employees Amid Ongoing Restructuring

Image via Ubisoft

Ubisoft has laid off 40 employees from its Toronto studio as part of the company's continuing cost-savings plan.

The Toronto studio is one of Ubisoft's largest, housing roughly 500 employees. It has a long history with some of the publisher's biggest franchises, having led development on titles like Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Watch Dogs: Legion, Far Cry 6, and most recently contributing to the narrative of Star Wars Outlaws.

Ubisoft addressed the situation with a statement shared across media. "This decision was not taken lightly and does not in any way reflect the talent, dedication, or contributions of the individuals affected. Our priority now is to support them through this transition with comprehensive severance packages and robust career placement assistance," the company said.

These layoffs are tied to the broader restructuring Ubisoft announced back in late January. The plan involves reorganizing the company into what it calls "Creative Houses," with each one overseeing specific franchises. Along the way, there have been studio closures, game cancellations, and waves of redundancies. Ubisoft Halifax was shut down entirely, and the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake was cancelled despite reportedly being close to completion.

As per reports from MobileSyrup, an internal email also confirmed that Ubisoft Toronto will continue operating as a co-development partner on titles like Rainbow Six Siege alongside Ubisoft Montreal. The two Canadian studios are also collaborating on the Alice x Junction venture, which handles in-house performance capture for cinematics across various Ubisoft games.

On a somewhat surprising note, the Splinter Cell remake is apparently still alive. Announced back in December 2021, the project has barely made a public appearance since. No gameplay footage has been shown, and the original game director left for EA's Battlefield 6 before eventually returning to the project. Despite all that turbulence, Ubisoft insists it is still moving forward.

The wider situation at Ubisoft has also been tense internally. According to Game Developer, around 1,200 workers staged a strike on February 10, responding to the wave of layoffs and studio closures. Two union representatives even called for CEO Yves Guillemot to step down. Five unions in France organized a three-day international strike, demanding leadership take accountability for "catastrophic management."

Guillemot, for his part, remains determined to the restructuring plan. "We are making progress on the transformation announced in January. This transformation is designed to sharpen focus, accelerate decision-making and elevate our creative ambition in an increasingly selective market," he said in a recent statement at earning call.