On Tuesday, hundreds of Ubisoft staff gathered in front of the publisher’s Saint‑Mandé headquarters, marking one of the biggest workplace actions the French studio has seen since its latest re‑organisation.
More than a hundred employees rallied with flags and placards, demanding that management reverse a new policy forcing a return to five days of on‑site work. "Remote work has become essential for us – taking it away was the last straw," explains Léa, a game artist who asked that her first name be kept private.
In Bordeaux, a smaller group of around thirty workers marched in front of the studio located in the La Bastide district. Laura Turban, representing the Video‑Game Workers Union (STJV), warned that the new remote‑work ban is "a way of pushing employees toward the exit."
The shift away from tele‑working was announced in January as part of a broader restructuring plan that will group Ubisoft’s studios by expertise into semi‑autonomous units.
Facing mounting financial pressure, the French publisher behind titles such as Assassin’s Creed, Just Dance and Far Cry has launched a €200 million cost‑reduction program spread over two years, which includes cancelling several projects.
"We all agree that change is needed, but this feels like walking straight into a wall," says Léa. "For five years the situation has been deteriorating, and now we’re being asked to sacrifice our games," adds Lola, a game designer at the studio.
Local politicians joined the protest: LFI deputies Ugo Bernalicis and Antoine Léaument, together with CGT secretary‑general Sophie Binet, stood alongside the striking workers in Saint‑Mandé.
Studio Closures and Ongoing Restructuring
CGT leader Sophie Binet noted, "This is the first time we’ve seen a strike of this magnitude at Ubisoft. Management must listen to its employees and address their demands."
Strikes were also organised in front of Ubisoft sites in Montpellier, Annecy and Lyon, with a picket set up at the Milan studio. Union representatives have called for the action to continue through Thursday.
At the end of January, Ubisoft announced a voluntary departure scheme – a collective redundancy plan that could affect 200 positions at its Paris headquarters, which employs roughly 1,100 people.
Clothilde Mayer, a delegate for the ecological Spring union, warned, "This could be the first step of a longer series of layoffs."
Since 2023, Ubisoft has shuttered several overseas studios, including locations in San Francisco, Osaka, Leamington, Stockholm and Halifax. It has also restructured sites in Abu Dhabi, Finland and Sweden. Overall, the French‑headquartered giant, with about 17,000 employees worldwide, has let go of more than 3,000 staff in recent years.
The company insists the new operational model will make it more competitive, but the ongoing unrest shows how fragile the French video‑game sector has become – Ubisoft alone accounts for roughly a quarter to a third of all gaming jobs in the country.