Ubisoft reorganizes: cancellations, delays, and a new creative model

The latest round of announcements Ubisoft It has shaken the video game industry to its core. After several weeks of rumors, the French publisher has confirmed a package of measures that includes cancellations of major projects, a chain of delays, and a deep internal restructuring which will affect its studios and employees worldwide.

At the heart of it all is a decision the players had been dreading for years: the remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time It will not see the light of day. The game, which had become a symbol of the company's internal problems, has been scrapped along with other projects as Ubisoft tries to adapt to an increasingly competitive and expensive AAA market.

Six games canceled and seven delayed: Prince of Persia is left without a return

The company has confirmed that it has opted for cancel six video games that were still under developmentAmong them, the remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Timewhich had been floundering for years. The company admits that, despite the project's potential and the affection the saga inspires, the game It did not meet the quality standard and prioritization criteria that has been set for the coming years.

The case of The Sands of Time is particularly striking: announced in 2020It did have a release date, suffered several delays, studio changes, and even a restart of its development, going from Ubisoft Pune and Mumbai to Ubisoft Montreal and at one point had the support of Ubisoft Toronto. For months it was assumed that it would be released in the current fiscal year, but it has ultimately been shelved.

Along with this remake, Ubisoft has also halted other three new intellectual properties that had never been presented before to the public, a mobile game, and a sixth project about which no details have been given. In all cases, the official explanation suggests that They did not meet the new quality standard nor did they fit into the long-term roadmap that the editor wants to continue.

The movement is not limited to cancellations: the company has reported that seven additional games have been delayed to give them more development time. One of them, still unannounced, was planned for the fiscal year ending in March 2026 and is now being moved to the following fiscal year, that is, to 2027Within the industry, it's almost taken for granted that it's the rumored [person/person]. remake of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, also referred to as Black Flag Resynced, although Ubisoft avoids confirming it.

The finance department insists that these types of decisions, however painful they may be now, They intend to maximize the value of the shares that will be released to the market and avoid launches that fall short of expectations, something the company has suffered in several recent projects.

A strategic “reset” with five Creative Houses and cost cutting

These decisions are part of a much larger plan that Ubisoft describes as a “major organizational and operational reboot”The goal is to regroup their brands, better align resources, and to reduce a structure that the company itself acknowledges as oversized after years of expansion.

The new model is structured around Five Creative Housessemi-autonomous divisions that will focus on specific game types and franchises, each with full responsibility for creative vision, budget, and brand managementThis represents a profound change from the previous operation, which was more distributed across multiple teams without such a clear separation.

The first of these houses will be Vantage Studios, created in collaboration with Tencent, which will be in charge of the major Ubisoft franchises such as Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six, with the clear intention of turning them into annual brands capable of generating multimillion-dollar revenues on a sustained basis.

• Creative House 1 (Vantage Studios): the axis of the great reference sagas, such as Assassin's Creed, Far Cry y Rainbow Six.
• Creative House 2: focused on competitive and cooperative shooters , the The Division, Ghost Recon o Splinter Cell.
• Creative House 3: focused on experiences “live” and games as a service such as For Honor, The Crew, Riders republic, Brawlhalla o Skull & Bones.
• Creative House 4: specialized in fantasy worlds and narrative adventures, which includes Year, Might & Magic, Rayman, Prince of Persia y Beyond Good & Evil.
• Creative House 5: aimed at the segment of casual and family games, with brands like Just Dance, Idle Miner Tycoon, Ketchapp, Hungry Shark, Invincible: Guarding the Globe, Uno and licenses of Hasbro.

These five houses will be supported by two transverse pillars: one Creative Networkwhich will bring together in-house studios capable of contributing production skills and expertise to projects that need it, and a structure of Core Services in charge of the technological aspects: from graphics engines and servers to the deployment of tools Artificial Intelligence generative which, according to the firm, will be geared towards improving the player experience and the efficiency of development.

School closures, layoffs, and the end of widespread teleworking

The strategic shift doesn't come alone. Ubisoft has confirmed a series of studio closures, internal restructurings, and staff reductions which affect several regions. Among the most striking measures is the closure of Ubisoft Halifax, specializing in mobile games, and from the studio of Ubisoft Stockholm, which add to the layoffs already carried out in teams like Massive or RedLynx.

The company acknowledges that this is a large-scale size reduction, with thousands of jobs that will disappear in the coming years, and directly links it to its objective of reduce fixed costsIn fact, Ubisoft boasts in its results of having reached a previous savings program ahead of schedule and now sets a new bar: it wants cut an additional 200 million euros in basic costs in the next two fiscal years.

In total, since 2022 the company estimates that it will have reduced around 500 million euros its cost baseThis adjustment involves not only eliminating projects and teams, but also changes to working conditions. One of the most striking aspects is the Elimination of teleworking as the normThe company wants employees to return to the office five days a week, although some specific days of remote work are planned throughout the year.

In practice, this wave of adjustments leaves a bittersweet feeling: for Ubisoft it's a way of trying regain competitiveness and internal disciplineBut for many workers, it means mass layoffs and less flexibility. The debate over whether the company had overexpanded or simply mismanaged some of its recent bets remains very much alive among analysts and fans.

Economic impact: heavy short-term losses and a focus on the long term

From a financial point of view, Ubisoft itself acknowledges that this plan will have a immediate negative impact on their accountsThe company speaks of a accelerated depreciation of assets of around 650 million euros, related precisely to the cancellation of projects and the review of the value of its catalog in development.

Furthermore, internal forecasts point to operating losses of close to 1.000 billion euros in certain exercises, as well as a negative free cash flow of between 400 and 500 million in one of the transition years. The company has even been forced to withdraw previous estimates for fiscal years 2026-2027, considering that they no longer reflect reality after the change in direction.

Despite this situation, Ubisoft's top management insists that the market for "Outstanding" AAA games offer higher financial potential than ever before. when a title manages to stand out. Hence the strategy is based on concentrating efforts on fewer releases, but with greater resources, more ambitious open worlds, and experiences as a service that can be sustained for years if they work.

The public statement by its chief financial officer, Frederick Duguet, follows this line: the executive points out that the market has become more selective and aggressiveand that this forces raise quality standards and prioritize more strictly which games are being invested in. Projects that don't fit within that framework, no matter how advanced they were, have been left out.

Meanwhile, the company is confident that its current catalog, some new IPs in development, and agreements with external partners will help smooth the transition. Among the titles that will survive the cuts are: four new intellectual properties in development, one of them the MOBA March of Giants, recently acquired and which will be integrated into one of the Creative Houses.

The decline of the Prince of Persia remake and the future of the saga

The most symbolic point of this whole process, at least in the eyes of European and Spanish players, is the definitive farewell to remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of TimeWe're talking about one of the most memorable titles in Ubisoft's catalog, especially during the era of PlayStation 2, GameCube and the first Xboxand of a project that had generated a lot of expectations when it was announced.

After its initial presentation in 2020, the new version of the classic was delayed time and again. First it was postponed for a few months, then it was left without a specific date, and then... There, it was confirmed that it changed hands between studiospassing from India to Canada. Later rumors even pointed to a complete development reboot, with changes in the creative team and the lead actor.

In 2025, several leaks suggested that the game was on track for principles of 2026And some age rating agencies even registered it, fueling the perception that its release was imminent. However, the current statement makes it clear: after more than five years of uncertainty, Ubisoft has chosen to cancel the project rather than release something that does not represent the essence of the original..

In its official statement, the company acknowledges that this decision is deeply disappointing for the fans and the teams involvedBut she insists she wasn't willing to compromise what she considers a key part of her catalog's legacy. The franchise, in any case, isn't disappearing: Prince of Persia joins the Creative House dedicated to fantasy worlds and narrative adventuressharing space with Anno, Rayman or Beyond Good & Evil, and the company reminds us that its most recent release, The Lost CrownThis demonstrates that there is still room for new proposals under that brand.

For the Spanish and European community, where The Sands of Time was a particularly influential gameThe cancellation is perceived as a missed opportunity. At the same time, many players understand that releasing a remake that didn't live up to expectations would have been an even bigger blow to Ubisoft's image, already quite tarnished after several high-profile missteps.

The move Ubisoft is making combines Painful cuts, a profound structural change, and a clear commitment to fewer but bigger gamesWith its sights set on open worlds and long-duration experiences, the immediate cost is very high, both in money and in fan trust. However, the company is confident that this "reset" will allow it to enter the next decade with a more robust catalog, more refined internal processes, and brands capable of sustaining themselves for many years without repeating recent mistakes.

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Isaac

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