Ubisoft closes Halifax studio, 71 employees affected
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Software company Ubisoft has closed its Halifax studio, putting 71 staff members out of work.
In a news release, the company, which employs 17,000 people globally, said it is the culmination of ongoing measures to make the company more efficient and cut costs.
,“Over the past 24 months, Ubisoft has taken company-wide actions to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and reduce costs,” the release said.
“We are committed to supporting all affected team members with resources, including comprehensive severance packages and additional career support, during this transition.”
an upcoming email from Antoine Leduc-LabelleAssassin’s Creed Rebellion, the video game the studio was working on, has seen a steady decline in its revenues since its release in 2018, the company’s public relations chief said.
At the end of December, 60 employees of the Halifax studio formed the company’s first union in North America.
In response to a question from CBC News, Leduc-Labelle said restructuring exercises began ““Well before the unionization process begins within the studios in June 2025.”
TJ Gillis, a senior server developer who has worked at Ubisoft Halifax for five years, said employees were called into a meeting Wednesday morning and told the industry was not doing well and the studio was being closed.
He said the employees decided to unionize in part because they have seen a trend in the industry toward studio closures.
Gillis said the timing of the closure was “extremely suspicious” and said members would contact union representatives to find out what support they could provide.
In a news release Wednesday afternoon, CWA Canada said it would ask Ubisoft to explain the reasons for the sudden closure.
President Carmel Smith said, “We will try to get Ubisoft to show that this has nothing to do with employees joining a union.”
Gillis said the closure of the Halifax studio leaves no other employment options for game developers in the province.
Microsoft closed its Alpha Dog studio in Halifax in 2024.
“This was my first serious foray into the gaming industry,” Gillis said.
“I’ve been working with these guys for five years and some of these projects have been going on for years. It’s hard to see that work disappear from us.”
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