TL;DR
Ubisoft has closed its Winnipeg and Belgrade studios as part of a new organizational restructuring, resulting in additional layoffs across the company. This marks the latest contraction in a two-year downsizing campaign that has already eliminated over 2,000 positions at the French publisher.
What Happened
Ubisoft confirmed the closure of its Winnipeg and Belgrade studios on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, as part of a sweeping organizational restructuring that will eliminate hundreds of additional jobs. The shutdowns follow a pattern of repeated studio closures and layoffs that have reshaped the company since its financial struggles began in early 2024.
Key Facts
- Ubisoft Winnipeg (founded in 2018 with 75 employees) and Ubisoft Belgrade (founded in 2016 with 120 employees) have been permanently closed.
- The restructuring will affect approximately 400 employees across both studios and supporting departments, according to internal sources.
- These closures bring Ubisoft's total studio count from 40 in 2023 to 28 as of June 2026.
- The company has now conducted four separate layoff rounds since January 2024, eliminating over 2,400 positions in total.
- Ubisoft's stock price fell 3.2% on Wednesday to €14.87, down 68% from its 2021 peak of €46.50.
- The closures come just eight months after Ubisoft shuttered its San Francisco and Osaka studios in October 2025.
- CEO Yves Guillemot cited "operational efficiency and portfolio focus" in the company's internal memo announcing the changes.
Breaking It Down
The Winnipeg and Belgrade closures represent more than just cost-cutting—they signal a fundamental retreat from Ubisoft's long-standing strategy of geographic expansion. The company had aggressively opened small studios in lower-cost markets throughout the 2010s, positioning them as satellite support hubs for major franchises like Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six. Winnipeg was specifically tasked with supporting Assassin's Creed development, while Belgrade focused on Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon and The Division franchises.
Ubisoft has now closed 12 studios in just 30 months, reducing its global footprint by 30% since January 2024—a faster rate of contraction than any other major Western publisher during the same period.
The speed of Ubisoft's downsizing is unprecedented for a company of its scale. By comparison, Electronic Arts closed 5 studios over three years, and Take-Two Interactive shut down 7 studios in the same timeframe. Ubisoft's aggressive expansion into multiple mid-sized studios created operational redundancy that the company can no longer afford, particularly as development costs for AAA titles have ballooned past $300 million per game. The Winnipeg and Belgrade studios, while cost-effective, lacked the critical mass to operate independently, making them prime targets when the parent company needed to trim expenses quickly.
The human cost is concentrated in two distinct labor markets. Winnipeg is a mid-sized Canadian city where Ubisoft was one of the few major game developers, meaning the 75 displaced employees face limited local alternatives. Belgrade's 120 workers exit a Serbian tech sector that has seen a 15% contraction in game development jobs over the past year, according to industry group Serbia Game Dev. Both closures underscore how restructuring decisions made in Paris ripple through smaller tech ecosystems that lack the absorption capacity of hubs like Montreal or London.
Financially, the closures will save Ubisoft an estimated €25 million annually in operating costs—a meaningful but not transformative sum for a company that reported €1.8 billion in revenue for fiscal 2025. The savings are more symbolic than structural, signaling to investors that management is willing to make painful cuts to restore profitability. However, the stock market's muted 3.2% decline suggests investors remain skeptical that studio closures alone can fix Ubisoft's deeper problems: a stalled pipeline of new intellectual property and increasing competition from Tencent, NetEase, and Sony.
What Comes Next
Ubisoft's restructuring is not finished. The company has publicly stated it will complete its "organizational realignment" by the end of fiscal 2027, suggesting more closures or divestitures are likely.
- Additional studio closures: Ubisoft's Düsseldorf (180 employees) and Barcelona (90 employees) studios are considered at high risk, as both operate as support studios without flagship projects of their own. An announcement could come as early as the company's Q2 earnings call in October 2026.
- Potential asset sales: Ubisoft is reportedly exploring the sale of its mobile gaming division, which includes Might & Magic: Era of Chaos and Assassin's Creed Rebellion. A deal could be valued at €300–400 million and might close by Q4 2026.
- Franchise consolidation: The company is expected to announce the cancellation or indefinite postponement of at least two unannounced AAA projects during its next investor day, currently scheduled for September 2026. Internal sources indicate the Far Cry and Ghost Recon franchises are under review for reduced release cadences.
- Labor negotiations: The Winnipeg and Belgrade closures will likely trigger severance negotiations and potential legal challenges. Canadian labor law requires 8–12 weeks' notice for mass layoffs in Manitoba, while Serbian law mandates 30 days' notice plus severance of at least one month's salary per year of service. Employee walkouts or unionization efforts could follow.
The Bigger Picture
This story fits two broader trends. First, AAA Publisher Contraction—the era of sprawling, multi-studio development networks is ending as publishers realize that scale no longer guarantees quality or profitability. Ubisoft, EA, and Square Enix have all closed more than 5 studios each since 2023, reversing two decades of geographic expansion. The model of 500-person teams spread across 10 countries is giving way to leaner, more centralized operations.
Second, Mid-Market Studio Vulnerability—studios in non-traditional game development hubs (Winnipeg, Belgrade, Osaka, San Francisco) are disproportionately affected because they lack the talent density and infrastructure of major clusters. When parent companies cut costs, these satellite studios are the first to go, regardless of their individual performance. This trend is hollowing out game development in cities that invested heavily in attracting the industry, raising questions about the long-term viability of decentralized development strategies.
Key Takeaways
- [Scale of Cuts]: Ubisoft has closed 12 studios (30% of its total) in 30 months, eliminating over 2,400 jobs—making it the most aggressive downsizing among major Western game publishers.
- [Geographic Impact]: The Winnipeg and Belgrade closures eliminate 195 jobs in mid-market tech hubs with limited alternative game development employment, creating localized economic disruptions.
- [Financial Rationale]: The €25 million in annual savings from these closures is modest relative to Ubisoft's €1.8 billion revenue, indicating the cuts are more about investor signaling than operational necessity.
- [Ongoing Risk]: At least two more studios (Düsseldorf and Barcelona) face closure risk, and the company is actively exploring asset sales and project cancellations through fiscal 2027.
