The video game industry is still reeling from last week, after Ubisoft announced it would undergo a "major reset," which saw the entire company get restructured into five new 'Creative Houses.' The reset created new leadership roles that pushed out Ubisoft veterans, cancelled six projects (including the Sands of Time Remake), delayed seven more projects, and created four new ones - while also looking to more layoffs and a return-to-office mandate to try and help execute this plan.
Not only did this reset see the company's share price drop to its lowest point since 2011 and mark a 95% loss of total value in the last eight years, but it also sent employee morale to new lows and anger to new heights. French publication Le Monde (spotted by GamesIndustry.Biz) reports that the French video games industry union Solidaires Informatique has already organized a strike that took place this past Thursday, January 22, 2026, outside of Ubisoft Paris as an "initial answer to the absurdity of management's decisions."
According to Le Monde, the protest was attended by ten people, which directly called out Ubisoft's chief executive officer, Yves Guillemot, with the union bringing three core demands to this initial demonstration. An end to the cost-cutting program, maintaining and extending remote work policies, and "decent pay raises." In a quote given to GI.Biz from Solidaires Informatique union representative at Ubisoft Paris, Marc Rutschlé, he describes the internal state of Ubisoft as one where "anger and despair" are "reigning supreme."
"At this state, it seems clear to us that Yves Guillemot has no knowledge or understanding of his company or its employees," said Rutschlé. "The company is continuing its cost reduction and layoff plan. Our teams are already working under pressure, often understaffed. After several years without pay rises (or very small increases), we understand that once again, employees will not receive a raise this year. At the same time, the reorganization is creating a number of high-level positions with excessive salaries."
"From our union's point of view, this forced reversal is a disguised redundancy plan, aimed at pushing employees outside the company. The atmosphere within the studio is particularly deplorable, with anger and despair reigning supreme. Staff representatives have witnessed several breakdowns in tears; some colleagues have made suicidal comments. If Guillemot wanted to make people miserable, he couldn't have done better."
In addition to this report, Insider-Gaming adds that the internal communication channels in Ubisoft are "full of employees shaming upper management and asking for change." Some have even taken to LinkedIn to make it publicly clear they are looking for other opportunities, despite not having been laid off.
It's unclear how Ubisoft will weather this storm, or if it can weather it at all. Losing 95% of your company's total value in eight years is a pretty damning mark on the company's leadership, not to mention the allegations of misconduct at Ubisoft that reportedly went unchecked by leadership, and the countless layoffs that have taken place in that time.
If something doesn't change within the company's leadership, the global publisher and developer that we've known for over two decades might not make it another eight years.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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