Ubisoft, which received €1.16bn investment in 2025 from Tencent, have closed its studio in Halifax, Canada, with the shutdown coming just a few weeks after the employees voted to unionise. The studio had been running for over ten years.
“Over the past 24 months, Ubisoft has undertaken company-wide actions to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and reduce costs,” said a Ubisoft spokesperson. “As part of this, Ubisoft has made the difficult decision to close its Halifax studio. 71 positions will be affected. We are committed to supporting all impacted team members during this transition with resources, including comprehensive severance packages and additional career assistance.”
Employees at Ubisoft Halifax formed a union under CWA Canada, which also includes employees from Bethesda Montreal, on December 18th, 2025. 74% of the staff voted in favour of the move.
“In an era marked by industry-wide uncertainty, studio closures, layoffs, and increasing instability, we want to make clear our commitment to one another and to our craft,” they stated at the time.
CWA Canada has not made any official comment about the timing of the two events, but is “demanding information”. “Today’s news is devastating,” commented CWA Canada president, Carmel Smyth. “We will pursue every legal recourse to ensure that the rights of these workers are respected and not infringed in any way.”
Rockstar Games was recently accused of ‘union busting’ after firing 30 employees who belonged to a union, stating that the employees were fired for sharing company information in a public forum. This has been denied by the staff.
Following the dismissals last week, the IWGB branded it as “a brazen act of illegal union busting”, with IWGB president Alex Marshall calling it “a calculated attack on workers organising for a collective voice and to improve their difficult working conditions.”
Source: GameDeveloper
