Ubisoft continues new wave of layoffs as 55 jobs are expected to be cut at Massive and Stockholm offices
French publisher Ubisoft is promising a nostalgic 2026, with remakes of Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time nearing completion, and the first Division game also getting a re-release of sorts. For many of the developers at key studios, however, the year is off to an awful start.
Last week, Ubisoft’s Halifax Studio was promptly shuttered only weeks after unionising. The true motives behind the closure were unclear, but we had reasons to question Ubisoft’s short comments on the matter, especially after everything going on at Rockstar Games. Some voices online pointed out the developers were maybe seeing a closure coming, and thus prepared to face it with better protections. Today, that theory seems stronger, as Ubisoft continued to take “additional steps” following the “voluntary career transition program” offered last year to Massive Entertainment staffers.
The new layoffs, as reported by GamesIndustry.biz, have (at the time of writing) translated into 55 roles being cut across the Massive Entertainment and Stockholm teams. Massive’s plans for the immediate future haven’t changed; the studio will continue to work on the new content coming to The Division 2 this year, as well as the seemingly massive threequel (and probably that “definitive edition” of the first game).
Recently, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora received a stunning third expansion DLC, probably marking the end of substantial support for that game. Last year also saw Star Wars Outlaws being (excellently) ported to Nintendo Switch 2. With those games “out of the way” now, one can see, without downplaying the horrible human cost, why and how Ubisoft is streamlining operations at Massive as it faces uncertainty in spite of the big reorganisation around its core franchises through a subsidiary announced in October 2025.
Before the end of 2025, RedLynx also faced aggressive restructuring, so this awful news is just a continuation of a company-wide trend that might continue well into 2026. Outside the aforementioned remakes and re-releases, Ubisoft’s next 12 months are looking a bit too quiet, so there could be a lot riding on those blasts from the past.