Let me start by saying this: Ubisoft didn’t announce this reset lightly. After years of uneven releases, delays and a shrinking margin for error in the AAA space, something had to give. The company’s official communication makes that clear. Rising costs, a more selective market and the difficulty of building new brands are all real pressures.
At first I thought this was just another corporate reshuffle dressed up with new labels and diagrams. Five Creative Houses, a Creative Network, a reshaped HQ. It all sounds neat and orderly. But the deeper I got into Ubisoft’s own explanation, the more this felt like a genuine attempt to change how the company works, not just how it’s presented.
That doesn’t mean it’s automatically the right move.
Five Creative Houses Could Help or Lock Things In Further
Ubisoft’s new operating model centers on five decentralized Creative Houses, each fully responsible for specific franchises, genres and financial performance. In theory, this puts decision-making closer to the people actually making the games. Less waiting on central approval, clearer ownership and faster reactions to player feedback.
I caught myself thinking this is exactly what Ubisoft has been missing. Too many of its recent games felt designed by committee, stretched thin across too many studios and smoothed down until nothing sharp remained. Giving teams clearer creative ownership could help restore identity to franchises that have started to blur together.
The risk is obvious, though. When Creative Houses are built around existing brands and genres, experimentation becomes harder, not easier. This model might protect Assassin’s Creed and Rainbow Six, but it doesn’t obviously create space for smaller, stranger ideas to survive internally.
Cancelling Sands of Time Feels Like an Admission
The cancellation of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake is the most emotionally charged part of this reset. Ubisoft’s own words are careful but blunt: the game couldn’t reach the quality bar without more time and investment and releasing it as-is wasn’t acceptable.
From a quality standpoint, that’s the right call. Releasing a remake that disappoints helps no one. But it’s hard to ignore how long this project struggled. Announced back in 2020, passed between studios, rebooted internally and still unable to land. That’s not just bad luck. That’s a sign of deeper structural problems.
Ubisoft says Prince of Persia still matters as a universe. I hope that’s true, because right now it feels like another franchise caught in the middle of a company figuring itself out.
Delays Are the Sensible Part of the Plan
Seven games have been delayed to give teams more time to meet quality benchmarks. Ubisoft doesn’t name them, but it’s not hard to guess that future entries in Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry or The Division could be affected.
This is where the reset feels most grounded. Ubisoft has leaned too heavily on post-launch fixes and live-service patching to paper over rushed releases. Choosing to delay instead of push games out early suggests the company understands that trust doesn’t regenerate as easily as engagement metrics.
Whether these delays actually result in better games is the real test.
Cost Cutting Always Comes With a Human Price
Ubisoft’s official statement doesn’t shy away from the reality of studio closures, restructurings and layoffs. Stockholm and Halifax are already closed. Other studios are being reshaped. More cost reductions are coming, with a stated goal of cutting hundreds of millions in fixed costs over the next two years.
This is where it didn’t fully land for me. You can talk about creative leadership and long-term sustainability all you want, but it’s hard to ignore that developers are once again absorbing the impact. The industry-wide pattern is familiar by now and Ubisoft is not alone in it.
Even if the reset works financially, it’s fair to question what kind of creative culture survives after this much trimming.
A Smarter Structure or Just a Tighter One?
Ubisoft’s leadership describes this as a gamer-centric transformation with faster decision-making and clearer accountability. And honestly, parts of it sound overdue. Decentralization, clearer ownership and fewer overlapping responsibilities could help reduce the internal friction that’s plagued recent projects.
But there’s a fine line between focus and constraint. When everything is optimized for efficiency, creativity can become risk-averse. When financial ownership sits directly with each Creative House, it’s easier to imagine safer sequels winning out over bold ideas.
This reset might stabilize Ubisoft. Whether it helps the company rediscover its creative edge is a much harder question.
Final Take
Ubisoft’s official communication makes one thing clear: this reset is about survival as much as creativity. The structure makes sense. The reasons are understandable. The ambition is there.
What surprised me most is how honest the company is about the short-term damage this will cause. Cancelled games, delays, layoffs and weaker financials in the coming years are all acknowledged up front.
Now comes the part that actually matters. If this reset leads to fewer games that feel more confident, more focused and less formula-driven, it might be worth the cost. If it just produces cleaner pipelines for the same safe releases, then this will feel like another reset button hit too late.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why did Ubisoft announce a major reset?
Ubisoft says rising development costs, a more selective AAA market and increased competition made structural change necessary.
What are Ubisoft’s Creative Houses?
They are five decentralized business units, each responsible for specific genres and franchises, with full creative and financial ownership.
Why was Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake cancelled?
Ubisoft stated the remake could not meet its quality expectations without further time and investment.
Are Ubisoft games being delayed?
Yes. Seven games have been delayed to allow additional development time and improve quality.
Will Ubisoft continue making Prince of Persia games?
Ubisoft says the Prince of Persia franchise remains important, despite cancelling the remake.
Is Ubisoft focusing on web3 or blockchain as part of this reset?
No. The reset focuses on organizational structure, portfolio quality and cost efficiency, not web3 or blockchain initiatives.
