Ubisoft says Creative House leadership will include 'respected' external hires
French publisher Ubisoft, which this week felt the ire of approximately 1,200 striking workers, has further outlined how it will reshape its studio ecosystem in its latest fiscal report.
The company announced a sweeping restructuring program in January that brought layoffs, studio closures, a robust return-to-office mandate, and the promise of more cost-cutting. Notably, the move will also result in the formation of five internal Creative Houses, each of which will oversee the development of specific key franchises. One of those Creative Houses—Vantage Studios—has already been backed by Tencent to the tune of €1.16 billion.
The news didn't exactly go down well with employees. Last week, two union representatives demanded the resignation of Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot. Meanwhile, a three-day international strike was called by five unions in France to demand leadership take "responsibility for the consequences of their catastrophic management."
Ubisoft, however, remains committed to that "group transformation" and will begin appointing Creative House leadership in March. The company said it will target the "external hires of experienced, respected industry veterans." in an effort to turn around its fortunes.
"We are making progress on the transformation announced in January. The allocation of studios and capabilities across the Creative Houses and Network has now been announced, and key leadership appointments are ongoing, including external hires of experienced, respected industry veterans," said Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot.
"This transformation is designed to sharpen focus, accelerate decision-making and elevate our creative ambition in an increasingly selective market. Vantage Studios has been operational since October and we are preparing for the rest of this new operating model to start running in early April."
Of course, Vantage Studios—the creative house overseeing Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six—was last year placed under the stewardship of co-CEOs Christophe Derennes and Charlie Guillemot.
If the latter name sounds familiar, that's because Charlie Guillemot is the son of Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot. That particular appointment was recently criticized by one Ubisoft union representative as an example of the nepotism and favoritism that is holding Ubisoft back.
The diagram below shows how Ubisoft's Creative Houses, which Yves Guillemot claims will deliver a "pipeline of exceptional, high-quality games" within the next three years, will stack up.
As for how the company is currently faring, Ubisoft delivered net bookings of €338 million during Q3—an increase of 12 percent year-on-year. That upswing was largely driven by stronger-than-expected partnerships and the Assassins Creed franchise.
"Back-catalog performance was solid at €297 million during the quarter, up 11percent year-on-year, driven by Assassins Creed, Avatar and The Division," reads the fiscal report. "Console & PC MAUs reached 34 million, stable year on year, with activity metrics improving throughout the quarter, and December MAUs up 3 percent YoY. Overall, unique active users stood at around 130 million in calendar year 2025, highlighting the appeal and strength of the Group's portfolio of franchises."
The company indicated its upcoming mobile title, Rainbow Six Mobile, is poised to hit the ground running in Q4. The game has delivered over 18 million pre-registrations after soft launching in LATAM, Canada, France, and Poland. It is currently slated to launch on February 23, 2026.
