Entire Assassin’s Creed Studio Shut Down 16 Days After Workers Unionize

Seventy-one Ubisoft Halifax employees logged into a surprise meeting Wednesday morning, January 8, 2026, with no warning of what awaited them. Within minutes, management announced the entire studio was shutting down immediately—just 16 days after workers successfully formed the company’s first North American union.

The room fell silent as employees realized their jobs had vanished. But the battle over whether this constitutes illegal union-busting under Canadian law was just beginning.

Workers Blindsided by Immediate Closure Announcement

Jon Huffman, the studio’s lead programmer with five years at Ubisoft Halifax, described the shock that rippled through the workforce.

“Nobody saw it coming,” Huffman told Global News in an exclusive interview. “In fact, I don’t know that our studio management saw it coming. They were just as devastated as we were.” The abrupt announcement left local managers visibly shaken, suggesting the decision came from corporate headquarters without consultation.

Historic Union Win Celebrated Just Three Weeks Earlier

The closure followed a six-month unionization campaign that culminated in overwhelming victory on December 18, 2025. Sixty-one out of 71 eligible employees—74 percent of the workforce—voted to join the Game & Media Workers Guild of Canada after the Nova Scotia Labour Board certified the union.

The union publicly celebrated December 22, marking a watershed moment for North American gaming labor. Workers believed they had secured their future through collective bargaining rights.

Timing Sparks Union-Busting Allegations Across Gaming Industry

The 16-day gap between union certification and studio closure has ignited fierce controversy throughout the gaming sector. Another worker, identified as J. Gillis, called the timing “awfully suspicious” in comments shared across social media platforms.

Industry observers noted that Ubisoft dropped all legal challenges to the union just before certification, only to eliminate every position weeks later. The pattern has union advocates questioning whether the company strategically withdrew opposition to avoid stronger legal protections.

Union Leaders Demand Corporate Documents and Emails

Carmel Smyth, president of CWA Canada, immediately challenged Ubisoft’s explanation and demanded transparency. “We will be looking for Ubisoft to show us that this had nothing to do with the employees joining a union,” Smyth stated in official union communications.

CWA Canada has formally requested emails, planning documents, financial records, and executive correspondence proving the closure decision predated June 2025 when unionization efforts began. The union’s legal team is preparing potential unfair labor practice charges.

Ubisoft Denies Retaliation, Cites Two-Year Restructuring Plan

Ubisoft executives firmly rejected any connection between the union victory and studio shutdown. Company representatives stated that restructuring commenced “well before the unionization efforts began at the studio in June 2025” as part of broader corporate strategy.

A spokesperson emphasized that Ubisoft has undertaken “company-wide actions to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and reduce costs” over 24 months spanning multiple studios globally. The company committed to providing comprehensive severance packages and career transition assistance.

Declining Mobile Game Revenue Offered as Primary Justification

Ubisoft attributed the Halifax closure specifically to falling revenues from Assassin’s Creed Rebellion, the mobile title developed at the studio since 2018. Company financial documents showed the game had experienced “a consistent decline in revenue since its launch,” making the operation financially unsustainable according to corporate analysis.

Ubisoft characterized the decision as a necessary response to changing mobile gaming market dynamics and shifting consumer preferences away from premium mobile titles toward free-to-play models.

Canadian Labor Law Prohibits Anti-Union Business Closures

CWA Canada highlighted that Canadian federal and provincial labor codes explicitly forbid closing businesses in retaliation for unionization activities.

“In Canada, it is unlawful for a business to close because its workers decide to unionize. The company must provide information about the reason for the sudden decision to close,” the union emphasized in official statements. Legal precedent requires employers to demonstrate legitimate business reasons that existed independently of union organizing efforts, with the burden of proof resting on management.

Union Criticizes Departure from International Corporate Standards

Smyth pointed to Ubisoft’s own global practices as evidence of problematic decision-making at the Halifax facility. “Ubisoft is highly unionized internationally; its managers are aware of that. Why they choose not to follow standard practice, we do not know,” she noted in media interviews.

European Ubisoft studios routinely provide months of advance notice before closures, engage in consultation with worker councils, and explore alternatives including transfers to other facilities. The Halifax workers received none of these considerations.

Employee Describes Emotional Devastation Following Closure

Huffman captured the profound disappointment felt across the terminated workforce in his public statements following the announcement. “To go from the triumph of being recognized and certified as a union, to, less than four weeks later, finding out that our studio is being shut down? It’s heartbreaking,” he explained.

Workers had invested months organizing, educating themselves about labor rights, and building solidarity only to see their collective achievement seemingly punished. Many employees are now questioning whether unionization efforts in gaming lead to retaliation.

Halifax Closure Part of Massive 2,500-Job Global Reduction

The studio shutdown represents the latest wave in sweeping layoffs across Ubisoft’s worldwide operations since September 2022.

The company eliminated approximately 2,500 positions through multiple rounds including 277 jobs in December 2024 following XDefiant’s cancellation, 185 positions in January 2025 from UK and European studios, and hundreds more across 2023 and 2024. Ubisoft’s total headcount dropped eight percent in 2024 alone as the company’s stock price collapsed from over 100 euros to just 6.10 euros.

Public Investment Lost as Tax-Subsidized Studio Shutters

The closure proves particularly contentious given that Ubisoft received 11 million dollars in Nova Scotia provincial tax credits over eight years of Halifax operations. Recent public financial disclosures showed the company claimed $47,791 in 2023-24 and $25,445 in 2022-23 from taxpayer-funded incentive programs designed to build regional technology sectors.

The shutdown leaves Halifax’s gaming industry devastated following Microsoft’s 2024 closure of its Alpha Dog studio, eliminating both major employers in the sector within 18 months.

Gaming Industry Experiences Wave of Unionization Efforts

The Halifax situation reflects escalating labor organization across the global gaming sector responding to widespread instability and mass layoffs. Nearly 1,600 video game workers formed unions throughout 2025, bringing total union representation at Microsoft alone to over 3,600 employees across multiple studios.

In December 2025, 165 workers at Microsoft’s id Software in Texas voted to unionize, continuing momentum that saw workers launch the United Videogame Workers union at March 2025’s Game Developers Conference following over 25,000 industry layoffs.

Historical Parallel Adds Bitter Irony to Studio Closure

Ubisoft Halifax originated from Longtail Studios, whose Quebec branch pursued one of North America’s earliest video game studio unionization campaigns in 2008-2009. That pioneering effort collapsed after sustained management opposition including mass layoffs that executives attributed to financial pressures and economic downturn conditions beyond company control.

Ubisoft’s subsequent acquisition of these studios now bookends nearly two decades of contentious labor relations in Canadian gaming, with workers facing similar patterns of organizing followed by sudden closures.

Union Pursues Legal Action and Worker Reassignment Demands

CWA Canada is pursuing multiple legal strategies to protect workers’ rights and challenge the closure’s legitimacy under Canadian labor law. The union has formally demanded that Ubisoft reassign all 71 affected employees to other facilities within the company’s extensive Canadian, American, and European studio network rather than terminate their employment entirely.

Legal proceedings before the Nova Scotia Labour Board may ultimately determine whether the shutdown violated federal prohibitions against anti-union retaliation.