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[Kacho]

The closure will see 71 people lose their jobs.

Prior to its closure, Ubisoft Halifax was working on mobile games for Rainbow Six and Assassin's Creed.

The news of the studio's shutdown comes just days after it was announced that 61 of the studio's employees joined the Game & Media Workers Guild of Canada, Local 30111. The certification for the union came on December 18, 2025, and was branded as the Ubisoft Workers of Canada, Halifax.

The decision, Ubisoft claims, was made "well before" the staff unionized. Ubisoft added that it respected its employees right to join a union.

Ubisoft Closes Halifax Studio Just After Employees Unionized

Ubisoft has announced the closure of its Ubisoft Halifax studio, just days after it was announced employees were unionizing.

insider-gaming.com

 

[Dafegamer]

Brutal

 

[Revolutionary]

Ubisoft added that it respected its employees right to join a union.

Ubisoft respecting their employees:

 

[jshackles]

Ubisoft added that it respected its employees right to join a union.

 

[bitbydeath]

So… what is it unions do again?

 

[The Cockatrice]

So… what is it unions do again?

I know this is a poor example, but most Unions do protect employees, at best they can ofc. They dont do miracles, employees are still getting fucked by big companies, but at least Unions can try and fight/find alternatives for said employees. Essentially, it's better than nothing. Take my company for example, without the union intervening we wouldnt have received xmas bonuses, even if said bonuses are garbage, it's still something versus nothing. When you're slaving away at a big corporation, even the little things matter.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

 

[SeanyQuest]

I don't claim to be an expert but I can't imagine there's room for like 10-12 mainstay shooters (the same top 10 games in sales every month) in the mobile market.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

Lumped together they were more easily one-shoted. Very efficient move by Ubisoft. Congrats.

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

Considering the slop they have been producing, no value was lost.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

I know this is a poor example, but most Unions do protect employees, at best they can ofc. They dont do miracles, employees are still getting fucked by big companies, but at least Unions can try and fight/find alternatives for said employees. Essentially, it's better than nothing. Take my company for example, without the union intervening we wouldnt have received xmas bonuses, even if said bonuses are garbage, it's still something versus nothing. When you're slaving away at a big corporation, even the little things matter.

or just change jobs to a better corporation . . . I get a end of the year bonus and raise every year. I get all my PTO for the year at the beginning of the year. Unlimited sick time. Work from home most days of the week. And for the first time last year, they offered all of us an opportunity to buy company stock at a 10% discount.

 

[The Cockatrice]

to a better corporation

1. no such thing
2. not everyone has the luxury or chance
3. i didnt say my workplace was bad, just generalizing.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

I know this is a poor example, but most Unions do protect employees, at best they can ofc. They dont do miracles, employees are still getting fucked by big companies, but at least Unions can try and fight/find alternatives for said employees. Essentially, it's better than nothing. Take my company for example, without the union intervening we wouldnt have received xmas bonuses, even if said bonuses are garbage, it's still something versus nothing. When you're slaving away at a big corporation, even the little things matter.

This, but let's not stop corporate apologists that slave for their billionaire owners because muh freedom. Also it's a given the decision was taken long before, which is why Ibisoft probably didn't fight this at all - they knew they wouldn't have to deal with it.

 

[Dr. Samuel Hayden]

Unions do nothing and are a scam

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

So… what is it unions do again?

Gets everyone fired instead of just the slackers.

 

[MiguelItUp]

Unions do nothing and are a scam

They can, and are not.

 

[damidu]

lol braindead bootlickers didnt waste any time to jump in

 

[diffusionx]

Unions are useless in the modern economy and world of essentially free and limitless capital movement.

 

[Hawk The Slayer]

XD

 

[Boy bawang]

Imagine simping for big corporations.

 

[saintjules]

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

1. no such thing
2. not everyone has the luxury or chance
3. i didnt say my workplace was bad, just generalizing.

So you think every corporation is as bad as ubislop and defending people without marketable skills. got ya . . . no sympathy from me.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

 

[The Cockatrice]

So you think every corporation is as bad as ubislop and defending people without marketable skills. got ya . . . no sympathy from me.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

That's the risk/reward of unionizing.

Sometimes a company will agree and it's a long term deal between employees and management.

But sometimes, the company cuts the cord fast. And now you got zero job. It's like a casino roll of the dice.

 

[kruis]

The decision, Ubisoft claims, was made "well before" the staff unionized. Ubisoft added that it respected its employees right to join a union.

Ubisoft respects the right of its employees to join a human - but not in North America. This was the the first Ubisoft union in North America. I guess they flew too close to the sun...

Ubisoft Halifax Forms First North American Ubisoft Union | Outlook Respawn

73.8% Ubisoft Halifax workers vote in favor of unionizing, creating first Ubisoft union in North America under CWA Canada.

respawn.outlookindia.com

Ubisoft Halifax Unionization as an Industry Signal

Labor leaders have positioned the Ubisoft Halifax vote as a significant moment for game workers in Canada. Carmel Smyth, president of CWA Canada, said the decision has already resonated beyond Halifax, describing that employees at other studios are seeing unionization as a viable path to influence working conditions.
She further emphasized "that it is prompting more interest" due to "thousands of Canadians" working in the gaming industry, "that is driven by personal input, blood, sweat, and tears of the workers." CWA Canada represents workers across telecommunications, media, and digital sectors, including 120 Montreal workers from Microsoft's Bethesda Game Studios.
Smyth's views were echoed by T.J. Gillis, one of Ubisoft Halifax's senior server developers. Gillis said unionization is becoming necessary as studios grapple with volatile production cycles and uneven labor protections. He highlighted how "ton of studios, especially larger studios, (are) just letting people go with no unions or support."

--------

Well, the industry signal this mass firing gives is that you're all getting fired if you dare to form a union.

 

[tylrdiablos]

So… what is it unions do again?

In the UK unions were responsible for getting us paid maternity/paternity leave, better pay and conditions, paid annual leave, proper breaks for lunch etc, equal pay for women... the list goes on.

What have the trade unions ever done for us?

Apart from… Equal pay for women Paid holidays Maternity pay Two day weekends Minimum wage Health and safety at work Equal opportunities Flexible working Better rates of pay Better sickness an…

hulluni.unison.site

 

[NickFire]

Imagine simping for big corporations.

I think its more a reaction to the notion that game devs need protections like coal miners do.

 

[StueyDuck]

Probably saw the writing on the wall then unionized, not the other way around

 

[Topher]

In the UK unions were responsible for getting us paid maternity/paternity leave, better pay and conditions, paid annual leave, proper breaks for lunch etc, equal pay for women... the list goes on.

What have the trade unions ever done for us?

Apart from… Equal pay for women Paid holidays Maternity pay Two day weekends Minimum wage Health and safety at work Equal opportunities Flexible working Better rates of pay Better sickness an…

hulluni.unison.site

All of which is achievable without unions especially in technical fields.

 

[Gonzito]

Good start of the year for Ubisoft. Fucking hell

 

[Js562]

 

[Punished Miku]

All of which is achievable without unions especially in technical fields.

Any worker's rights we have in the US are remnants from strikes, protests, and unions pushing hard against crushing corporate opposition. Things like worker safety standards, any days off, overtime pay, abolishing child labor, and on and on. We even have a holiday for it dating back to the late 19th century during the last great mechanized labor displacement; the Industrial Revolution. People died to get standards to where they are now, whether they were part of protests or actual official unions - the fight was the same. People had to band together to have any influence on their jobs.

If AI ever turns out to displace as much labor as people keep predicting, the organized labor response will have to exceed that. We'll need a globalized mass worker movement and a 2nd holiday if they ever win any kind of protections.

 

[Solarstrike]

Spoiler: [Click for Ubisoft Helpline]

 

[Topher]

Any worker's rights we have in the US are remnants from strikes, protests, and unions pushing hard against crushing corporate opposition. Things like worker safety standards, any days off, overtime pay, abolishing child labor, and on and on. We even have a holiday for it dating back to the late 19th century during the last great mechanized labor displacement; the Industrial Revolution. People died to get standards to where they are now, whether they were part of protests or actual official unions - the fight was the same. People had to band together to have any influence on their jobs.

If AI ever turns out to displace as much labor as people keep predicting, the organized labor response will have to exceed that. We'll need a globalized mass worker movement and a 2nd holiday if they ever win any kind of protections.

I'm not arguing that unions haven't played an important part in advancing workers rights in the past. I get your point about AI though. Very well could be a new fight for workers rights will emerge in the future.

 

[Zacfoldor]

I'll all for ANY unions when they don't get special protection from the law. When a group forms that has marketable skills and demands higher pay, I'm all for it.

Unions for fungible readily available and minimally skilled employees isn't a union, it's a club and when that private club is only possible due to public laws designed to protect it, we can have a problem depending on the exact situation.

Are devs "fungible readily available and minimally skilled employees?" Probably not, so in this case I would probably respect that union if it formed.

However, I'm sure they used every legal means to form the union, Ubislop has also and they have more lawyers.

 

[DaleinCalgary]

Good, unions suck

 

[Physiognomonics]

Eventually they'll close most of the studios located in communist states/countries. It's just business.

 

[AJUMP23]

I bet the Chinese had them do it.

 

[rm082e]

Prior to its closure, Ubisoft Halifax was working on mobile games for Rainbow Six and Assassin's Creed.

Set the entire issue of unionization aside for a moment. If that wasn't an element here at all and I read the above, I would think "Oh, well obviously. There's no way those projects were going to make any money."

I'm sure the unionization didn't help, but businesses still have to make money. It sounds like Halifax wasn't...

 

[Sephimoth]

lol based

 

[Deerock71]

Unions will not work in this industry, and AI doesn't get it's feelings hurt when it's called a scab.

 

[tr1p1ex]

Ubi needs to dump more employees.

 

[TheMule1983]

I know this is a poor example, but most Unions do protect employees, at best they can ofc. They dont do miracles, employees are still getting fucked by big companies, but at least Unions can try and fight/find alternatives for said employees. Essentially, it's better than nothing. Take my company for example, without the union intervening we wouldnt have received xmas bonuses, even if said bonuses are garbage, it's still something versus nothing. When you're slaving away at a big corporation, even the little things matter.

Was it enough to justify the fees?

 

[spookyfish]

They respected it -- but they just fired them after.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Was it enough to justify the fees?

No. But the union leader who represents them getting paid from fees sure loves it.

Did the workers get a free ping pong table out of it?

 

[Hari Seldon]

I don't know what they expected. To unionize in such an easily outsourced position is damn risky. Unions really only make sense if you are not easily outsourced, like a mine or a power plant.

 

[elbourreau]

Fuck unions, and fuck ubisoft.

 

[RayBoy]

2026 looks promising...

 

[PeteBull]

Looks like both ubi and ms finally read the "AOE pvp farming guide" to make sure their employers know who's the boss, not surprised after solid last few years of DEI hiring, those parasites bring loss to the companies so sooner or later that fat(sometimes literally fat, we all saw those community manager wilderbeasts ;P ) had to be trimmed.

Politically correct CEO when he finds out about unionisation of ppl underneath him: