Ubisoft ends remote work and requires employees to return to the office five days a week to "improve efficiency"

Ubisoft has announced a major internal restructuring as the company looks to refocus its priorities and improve overall efficiency. The publisher says this move is meant to streamline how teams work and help Ubisoft stay competitive in an increasingly tough AAA market. As part of this plan, the company is cutting back on projects, shutting down some studios, and narrowing its development focus.

One of the biggest outcomes of this restructuring is the cancellation of several games. This includes Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake, three unannounced new IPs, and one mobile title. The company appears to be prioritizing fewer games with clearer direction, rather than spreading resources across too many titles.

Alongside these project cuts, Ubisoft has also made a major announcement that directly affects its employees. The company plans to move back to a full return-to-office model for all teams. Under this new approach, employees will be expected to work on-site five days per week. While Ubisoft will still allow a limited number of work-from-home days each year, remote work will no longer be a regular part of weekly schedules.

Ubisoft says this change is meant to support the rollout of its new operating model. The company believes that having teams together in person will lead to better collaboration, faster communication, and stronger teamwork across studios. 

To support the effective implementation and operation of this new model, the Group also intends to return to five days per week on site for all teams, complemented by an annual allowance of working-from-home days. This evolution is intended to strengthen collaboration, including constant knowledge sharing, and the collective dynamic across teams. In-person collaboration is a key enabler of collective efficiency, creativity and success in a persistently more selective AAA market.

Marie-Sophie de Waubert, Ubisoft’s Senior Vice President of Studio Operations, further explained the thinking behind this decision to GamesIndustry. She explained that Ubisoft still considers this a form of hybrid work, just structured differently than before. Instead of regular remote days each week, flexibility will come through an annual allowance of work-from-home days.