Update: CWA Canada says it will “pursue every legal recourse” to defend union members impacted by the closure of Ubisoft Halifax.
In a statement sent to Game Developer, the organization said the timing of the decision “raises many questions for which we do yet have answers.”
It added that Ubisoft Halifax has been a successful operation for over a decade and noted that, in Canada, it is unlawful for a business to be closed because its workers chose to unionize.
CWA Canada hasn’t directly accused Ubisoft of union busting, but said it will now be “demanding information” from the publisher to understand why it suddenly made the decision to shut down the studio.
“Today’s news is devastating,” said 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.”
Jon Huffman, a member of the Ubisoft Halifax organizing committee, said union members want their employer to prove the closure has nothing to do with their recent unionization efforts.
“The workers, their families, the people of Nova Scotia, and all of us who love video games made in Canada, deserve nothing less,” added Huffman.
Original story: Ubisoft has shuttered its mobile-focused Halifax studio just weeks after the majority of employees at the Canadian outfit voted to unionize.
In a statement sent to Game Developer, the French publisher said the closure was made as part of a long-running restructuring initiative. VGC initially reported the news.
We asked Ubisoft whether it could provide a timeline of events to make it clear when the decision to shutter Ubisoft Halifax was made and subsequently communicated to employees. The company neglected to provide those details.
“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.”
Ubisoft Halifax workers formed a certified union under CWA Canada on December 18, 2025, after 74 percent of staff voted in favor of the move.
The unit included about 60 producers, programmers, designers, artists, researchers, and testers.
‘We believe that creativity flourishes when workers feel secure’
Those employees joined CWA Canada Local 30111, which includes nearly 120 game workers at Bethesda Game Studios (BGS) in Montreal, and staff at the Montreal Gazette newspaper.
“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,” said the newly-unionized workers in a mission statement.
“We believe that creativity flourishes when workers feel secure, supported, and empowered. We are unionizing not in opposition to Ubisoft, but in partnership, with the goal of ensuring our studio remains a beacon of equity, excellence, and innovation.”
Game Developer has reached out to CWA Canada for comment.
Ubisoft has shuttered and downsized a number of studios in recent years. In January 2025, it closed its studio in Leamington, UK, and made redundancies at others in Dussledorf, Stockholm, and Newcastle.
In December 2024, the company cancelled free-to-play shooter XDefiant and closed its studios in San Francisco and Osaka.
Those layoffs came amid rumblings that Ubisoft was looking for a new investor, with that rumor eventually turning reality when Chinese conglomerate Tencent sunk around $1.25 million into Ubisoft to launch a new subsidiary called Vantage Studios.
Vantage now houses Ubisoft’s biggest franchises including Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry.
