Ubisoft Closes Halifax Studio, 71 Employees Lose Jobs After Shutdown

Video game giant Ubisoft has officially closed its Halifax, Nova Scotia studio, resulting in the loss of 71 jobs. The company said the decision is part of a broader effort to streamline operations, improve efficiency and reduce costs amid ongoing challenges in the global gaming industry. Ubisoft, which employs around 17,000 people worldwide, described the closure as a difficult but necessary step in its long-term restructuring strategy.

According to Ubisoft, the Halifax studio had been working on Assassin’s Creed Rebellion, a mobile game that has seen a steady decline in revenue since its launch in 2018. Company spokesperson Antoine Leduc-Labelle stated that the decision to shut down the studio was based on business performance and was planned well before employees began the unionization process in mid-2025.

The closure comes just weeks after about 60 employees at Ubisoft Halifax formed the company’s first union in North America in late December. This timing has raised concerns among workers, some of whom described the shutdown as “suspicious.” Senior server developer T.J. Gillis, who worked at the studio for five years, said staff were informed in a meeting that the industry downturn left the company with no option but to close the facility.

The union representing the workers, CWA Canada, has said it will seek clarification from Ubisoft to ensure the decision was unrelated to union activity. Union president Carmel Smyth stated that the organization expects transparency from the company regarding the sudden closure.

With Ubisoft Halifax shutting down, there are now no major video game development studios operating in Nova Scotia, following Microsoft’s closure of its Alpha Dog studio in Halifax in 2024. For many affected workers, the shutdown marks a painful end to years of work and highlights growing instability within the gaming industry in Canada.