Ubisoft cancels six games and closes studios in major strategic reset

Ubisoft announced a sweeping restructuring that will cancel six video games, close two studios, and delay seven titles as the company attempts to return to sustainable growth. The decision includes shelving the long-awaited Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake, a project fans had anticipated since its 2020 announcement.

The company's shares plunged 33% following the announcement, reflecting investor concerns about the publisher's direction. The move represents what chief executive Yves Guillemot called a "major reset" of operations, coming just months after Ubisoft cut 185 jobs across Europe in 2025.

What's Being Cancelled

Beyond the Prince of Persia remake, Ubisoft confirmed it is discontinuing four unannounced titles, including three based on new intellectual property, and one mobile game. The company did not specify the names of these projects.

The cancellation of the Prince of Persia remake is particularly notable given the timing. The original 2003 game sold millions of copies, and the remake was announced to significant fanfare. However, development had already been moved from its original studio to Ubisoft Montreal in 2022, and the project has now been shelved entirely.

Studio Closures and Restructuring

Ubisoft is closing its studios in Stockholm, Sweden and Halifax, Canada. The Stockholm team was working on a new intellectual property, while the Halifax studio was developing mobile titles for Assassin's Creed. The Halifax closure was previously announced in January, the same month the studio formed a union.

Additionally, three other studios will undergo restructuring as part of the consolidation.

Strategic Pivot to Established Franchises

The cancellations reflect a deliberate shift toward safer investments in proven franchises. Gaming industry analyst Piers Harding-Rolls explained that Ubisoft is choosing to "maintain scale by investing in existing big franchises such as Assassin's Creed and Rainbow Six rather than launch entirely new IPs."

This strategy aligns with the company's announcement that its subsidiary Vantage Studios, created after a €1.25 billion investment from Chinese tech giant Tencent, will focus on turning Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and Rainbow Six into "annual billionaire brands."

Guillemot acknowledged the challenges facing the triple-A game industry, citing "persistently more selective and competitive" markets with "rising development costs and greater challenges in creating brands." He pointed to delays in major titles like Grand Theft Auto VI, which has been pushed back to November 2026, as evidence of industry-wide pressures.

Focus on Live Services and Open Worlds

Going forward, Ubisoft will concentrate on two main categories: open world adventure games that allow players to freely navigate large environments, and live service games that generate ongoing revenue through regular player payments. This mirrors industry trends where established publishers increasingly rely on recurring monetization models rather than one-time game sales.

The decision to abandon the Prince of Persia remake while doubling down on annual franchise releases highlights a fundamental tension in modern game development. Publishers face ballooning development costs for blockbuster titles, yet the market rewards proven formulas over creative risks.

For Ubisoft, this means betting that players will continue to buy annual iterations of Assassin's Creed and Far Cry rather than supporting new interpretations of classic properties like Prince of Persia. The company is essentially trading the potential upside of innovative remakes for the predictable revenue of established brands.

The restructuring also raises questions about the future of mid-tier development at Ubisoft. With the company explicitly prioritizing "billionaire brands," smaller projects and experimental titles appear to have less room to maneuver within the organization's portfolio.

Whether this strategy will restore Ubisoft's growth remains to be seen. The company's stock performance suggests investors are skeptical, but the move represents a clear acknowledgment that the era of broad portfolio diversification for major publishers may be ending in favor of concentrated bets on proven winners.