Ubisoft’s Legacy and The Big Question
Once upon a time, Ubisoft was one of the most exciting names in gaming. They gave us Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Splinter Cell, and Rainbow Six — games that didn’t just sell well but defined entire genres.
They pioneered open-world exploration, crafted some of the best stealth mechanics out there, and built franchises that gamers obsessed over for years.
Fast forward to today, and Ubisoft isn’t exactly at the top of its game.
Sales are down, delays are piling up, and gamers are frustrated.
Their stock has lost 85% of its value since 2021, Skull & Bones became a meme, and employees are leaving in waves. Even die-hard fans are asking:
What happened to Ubisoft?
The company still has some of the best talent in the industry and franchises that people want to love. But the big question is: Can Ubisoft turn things around, or are we watching a slow-motion collapse?
In this article, we’re going to break it all down — the golden years, the missteps, and what Ubisoft needs to do to make a comeback. If you’re a gamer, an industry insider, or just curious about what’s going on, buckle up. Let’s dive in.
The Golden Years: Ubisoft at Its Peak
There was a time when Ubisoft was unstoppable. You’d hear their name, and you knew a massive, ambitious, and innovative game was coming. They weren’t just making games — they were setting trends that shaped the industry.
How Ubisoft Became a Powerhouse
Think back to the late 2000s and early 2010s. Ubisoft was one of the few studios truly pushing open-world gaming forward. They took risks, experimented, and gave us some of the most memorable gaming experiences in history.
🔥 Assassin’s Creed II (2009) — A game that redefined open-world storytelling. Ezio Auditore wasn’t just a great protagonist — he became a gaming icon. AC2 set the gold standard for historical open-world adventures and showed the world what Ubisoft was capable of.
🌍 Far Cry 3 (2012) — This was more than just an FPS. It was player freedom done right. A massive tropical island, an insane villain (Vaas), and a story that kept players hooked. It set the blueprint for the Ubisoft open-world formula that we still see today.
💥 Rainbow Six Siege (2015) — A complete reinvention of the tactical shooter genre. Siege had a rough launch, but Ubisoft stuck with it. It became one of the biggest esports titles in the world, proving that Ubisoft could evolve a game after release and turn it into a long-term success.
They weren’t just good at making games — they were smart business-wise too. Ubisoft built a global network of studios (Montreal, Paris, Singapore, Toronto, etc.) that allowed them to churn out AAA-quality games at a rapid pace. They also doubled down on world-building and lore, giving their franchises lasting appeal beyond just one game.
The Ubisoft Formula: What Made Their Games So Addictive?
Ubisoft mastered a very specific game design philosophy that hooked players:
✅ Massive Open Worlds — Big, beautiful maps filled with things to do. Whether you were climbing towers, hunting animals, or liberating enemy bases, their worlds felt alive.
✅ Gameplay Loops That Work — The whole “explore, unlock, conquer” loop kept players addicted. This formula worked brilliantly in Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Watch Dogs.
✅ Memorable Villains — Ubisoft knew how to write great antagonists. From Vaas Montenegro (Far Cry 3) to Pagan Min (Far Cry 4) and Haytham Kenway (AC3), their games had villains that stuck with you.
✅ Annual Releases Without Losing Quality — Unlike some studios that struggled with back-to-back releases, Ubisoft somehow kept the quality high (at least for a while). Assassin’s Creed was almost a yearly event at one point.
This era cemented Ubisoft as a top-tier publisher, competing with the likes of Rockstar, EA, and Activision. They were making some of the best-selling and most-played games in the world.
But then… something changed.
The Decline: Where Ubisoft Went Wrong
Ubisoft had the gaming world in the palm of its hand. But as the years went on, something shifted. The formula that once made their games exciting and innovative started feeling… repetitive. Instead of pushing the industry forward, Ubisoft began playing it too safe.
The decline wasn’t just about one bad game or one wrong decision — it was a series of missteps that slowly eroded player trust, hurt innovation, and damaged Ubisoft’s reputation.
1. Financial Troubles: The Numbers Tell the Story
When a gaming giant struggles, the financials tell the real story. Ubisoft has been bleeding money and losing investor confidence for years.
📉 Revenue dropped by 19.6% in the first half of FY 2024–2025.
📉 Net bookings fell 21.9%, signaling a major sales slump.
📉 Ubisoft’s market cap collapsed from $12.17 billion in 2021 to just $1.78 billion by 2025. That’s an 85% loss in value — a staggering drop for any company.
These aren’t just bad numbers. They scream “something is fundamentally broken.” When investors see this kind of decline, they stop believing in leadership’s ability to fix things.
2. The Ubisoft Formula Became a Problem
For years, Ubisoft had a winning gameplay loop. But instead of evolving it, they just kept copy-pasting it across different franchises. Eventually, players caught on.
👀 Climbing towers to unlock the map? Overused.
👀 Checklists of repetitive side activities? Felt like busywork.
👀 Overstuffed open worlds? Players burned out.
At one point, an Ubisoft open-world game felt less like an adventure and more like a to-do list. Gamers weren’t exploring — they were clearing objectives off a map.
The magic of Assassin’s Creed II was discovering the world. By the time AC Odyssey and Valhalla rolled around, players were drowning in endless filler content.
Even Far Cry, once a powerhouse franchise, became stale. Far Cry 6 was technically polished, but it felt too familiar — as if Ubisoft was afraid to shake things up.
3. The Disaster of Skull & Bones (and Other Flops)
Ubisoft’s inability to deliver on its big ideas became painfully clear with Skull & Bones. What was supposed to be a high-seas pirate adventure in the style of Black Flag turned into one of the most infamous development disasters in gaming history.
⚓ Development cost? Over $200 million.
⚓ Number of delays? Too many to count.
⚓ What we got? A lifeless pirate game that doesn’t even let you leave your ship.
Instead of making the next Black Flag, Ubisoft overcomplicated development and ended up delivering a half-baked live-service grind fest.
And it wasn’t just Skull & Bones. Other games suffered from the same issues:
🚨 Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Delayed multiple times, costing $22 million extra in development.
🚨 Star Wars Outlaws: Development budget reportedly 30% higher than AC Mirage, but early impressions were underwhelming.
🚨 Hyper Scape: Ubisoft’s attempt at a battle royale — dead within a year.
The pattern was clear: overpromising, underdelivering, and failing to understand what players actually want.
4. Leadership Problems & Employee Exodus
A company can only be as good as its leadership and talent. Ubisoft, once known for strong teams and creative risk-taking, saw a massive brain drain over the years.
🧑💻 Between 2022 and 2024, Ubisoft laid off 1,700 employees, cutting its workforce to 19,011.
🧑💻 Attrition rates spiked, with employees leaving due to leadership frustrations.
🧑💻 Developers felt unheard and unmotivated, leading to a wave of departures.
At the core of the issue is Yves Guillemot, Ubisoft’s long-time CEO. While he was once seen as a visionary leader, recent years have exposed his hesitance to make tough decisions.
🔴 He rarely cancels failing projects, keeping them alive longer than necessary.
🔴 He overcommits to too many big-budget games instead of focusing on what works.
🔴 He failed to modernize Ubisoft’s approach, leading to outdated game design choices.
A great leader knows when to adapt — but Ubisoft’s leadership seemed stuck in the past, unwilling to evolve.
Where Does Ubisoft Go from Here?
Ubisoft is in a dangerous position. If it doesn’t course-correct soon, it risks becoming another forgotten gaming giant, overtaken by more agile and innovative competitors.
The good news? They still have incredible IPs, talented teams, and the potential to turn things around. But the question remains — do they have the courage to change?
What Ubisoft Needs to Do to Make a Comeback
Ubisoft is not beyond saving — far from it. Despite all the missteps, the company still has some of the most valuable IPs in gaming, from Assassin’s Creed to Far Cry to Rainbow Six. The talent is still there, too — what’s missing is a bold, strategic shift in how they operate.
If Ubisoft wants to win back gamers and investors, it needs to change the way it makes games, manages teams, and positions itself in the market. Here’s how they can do it.
1. Fix Leadership & Decision-Making
One of Ubisoft’s biggest problems right now is decision paralysis. They take too long to cancel failing projects, they don’t push innovation hard enough, and they refuse to let go of outdated game design ideas.
✅ Make the tough calls. Ubisoft needs to cut failing projects sooner. Games like Skull & Bones dragged on for years and burned millions in wasted development costs. Leadership has to be ruthless about what stays and what goes.
✅ Streamline development. Ubisoft operates too many studios spread across too many locations. While global collaboration is great, it also creates inefficiencies. They need smaller, more focused teams working on fewer, higher-quality projects.
✅ Reevaluate Yves Guillemot’s role. Ubisoft’s CEO has been around since the start, but sometimes fresh leadership is needed. If Guillemot stays, he needs to empower new voices and take a step back from creative control.
2. Reinvent the Ubisoft Formula
The Ubisoft open-world design — climb towers, unlock the map, grind through endless repetitive tasks — feels outdated. The company must evolve or risk irrelevance.
🎯 Focus on depth, not size. Instead of making the biggest open worlds possible, Ubisoft needs to make them more meaningful. Elden Ring proved that discovery and mystery are more important than sheer scale.
🎯 Ditch the “Live Service” obsession. Not every game needs battle passes and microtransactions. Gamers want complete, high-quality single-player experiences, not just games designed to be monetized endlessly.
🎯 Bring back true player choice. Ubisoft’s games used to offer real agency — think Splinter Cell’s stealth mechanics or the player-driven chaos in Far Cry. Lately, their games feel formulaic, with fewer real choices. That needs to change.
3. Bring Back the Fans by Listening to Them
Ubisoft’s biggest mistake? Not listening to its community. The backlash against Ghost Recon Frontline, Hyper Scape, and Skull & Bones wasn’t random — it was a loud message from players that Ubisoft ignored.
🎙 Engage with players BEFORE making big decisions. Do real beta tests, not just marketing betas. Games like Halo Infinite and Cyberpunk 2077 both made huge comebacks by listening to player feedback.
🎙 Fix what’s broken instead of chasing trends. Ubisoft jumped on battle royale, NFTs, and live service models — none of them worked. Instead, they should double down on what made their franchises successful in the first place.
🎙 Give fans what they actually want. Players have been begging for a true Splinter Cell revival — not just a remake. The same goes for Prince of Persia and a proper Assassin’s Creed return to form.
4. Invest in Talent & Retain Employees
Behind every great game is a great team — but Ubisoft has been bleeding talent for years. If they don’t fix their workplace culture, they will continue to lose their best people to competitors.
💡 Stop the brain drain. Developers are leaving because they don’t feel heard. Ubisoft must give creative teams more control and stop forcing every game to follow the same open-world formula.
💡 Recognize and reward talent. It’s not just about paying well — employees want creative freedom. Give them the ability to innovate, not just churn out another version of the same game.
💡 Bring back the magic of Ubisoft Montreal. Some of Ubisoft’s best games came from the Montreal studio. The company should reinvest in its strongest teams and rebuild trust with developers.
5. Deliver a Breakthrough Game That Shakes Up the Industry
The fastest way to regain credibility? Drop a masterpiece. Ubisoft needs a game that makes people say, “Wow, they’re back.”
🔥 Splinter Cell (for real this time). The stealth genre is wide open right now. A modern Splinter Cell with deep stealth mechanics, a strong story, and zero live-service nonsense would dominate the market.
🔥 A bold new Assassin’s Creed. AC Shadows needs to be more than just another open-world RPG. It needs to redefine the franchise like AC II did.
🔥 Surprise us. Ubisoft’s best games in the past — Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Assassin’s Creed, Watch Dogs — felt fresh and unexpected. They need to do something bold again instead of playing it safe.
Can Ubisoft Pull Off a Comeback?
Ubisoft still has everything it needs to be great again. The franchises are there, the talent is there, and the industry wants to see them succeed. But they have to move fast and make real changes.
The biggest question isn’t whether they can come back — it’s whether they’re willing to do what it takes.
The gaming world is watching.
What Do You Think?
Ubisoft is at a crossroads, and it’s going to be interesting to see what happens next.
👉 Do you think Ubisoft can turn things around?
👉 What changes do you think they must make?
Drop a comment below — I’d love to hear your thoughts.
References / Works Cited
Here’s a fully visual list of sources used to back up the facts in the blog post. These links provide financial data, employee turnover stats, game budgets, and leadership decisions at Ubisoft.
1. Ubisoft’s Financial Decline
📉 Revenue & Market Value Drop
- “Ubisoft Laid Off 1,700 Workers on Its Path to Its Highest Net Bookings Ever”
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/ubisoft-laid-off-1-700-workers-on-its-path-to-its-highest-net-bookings-ever - “Ubisoft’s Market Share Collapse: From $12.17B in 2021 to $1.78B in 2025”
https://www.neogaf.com/threads/ubisoft-is-dying-market-shares-collapse-by-85-from-2021-to-2025.1679155 - Ubisoft FY24 Earnings Report (Official)
https://staticctf.ubisoft.com/8aefmxkxpxwl/AwOkNohhzmR1qBmQ4Nj4h/096beaa470c05f39f77417742e4d25b8/Ubisoft_FY24_Earnings_PR_English_final.pdf
2. Employee Turnover & Workplace Culture
👥 Layoffs & Talent Drain
- “Ubisoft Cuts 1,700 Jobs, Reducing Workforce to 19,011”
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/ubisoft-laid-off-1-700-workers-on-its-path-to-its-highest-net-bookings-ever - “Ubisoft Employee Retention Report”
https://eightfold.ai/wp-content/uploads/ubisoft_levels_up_eightfold_ai.pdf - “Ubisoft Employee Turnover Rates — 33.3% Annually”
https://iamupready.com/turnover/company/ubisoft_com
3. Project Budgets & Game Delays
🎮 Skull & Bones Budget & Delays
- “Skull & Bones Budget Exceeds $200 Million”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skull_and_Bones_%28video_game%29
🕵️ Assassin’s Creed Shadows Budget & Delay Costs
- “AC Shadows Delay Costs Ubisoft Additional $22 Million”
https://sherwood.news/snacks/culture/assassins-creed-maker-ubisoft-struggles-with-delays-in-a-glitchy-gaming-year
🌌 Star Wars Outlaws Development Cost & Reception
- “Star Wars Outlaws Budget is 30% Higher than AC Mirage, Yet Fails to Impress”
https://www.reuters.com/technology/game-developer-ubisoft-slides-amid-muted-reception-star-wars-outlaws-2024-09-03
4. Ubisoft Leadership & Decision-Making
🏢 Yves Guillemot & Company Leadership Strategy
- “Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot Addresses Employees on Spending & Project Deliveries”
https://www.reuters.com/technology/ubisoft-postpones-assassins-creed-shadows-release-cuts-q2-guidance-2024-09-25 - Ubisoft’s Wikipedia Leadership Overview
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubisoft
Stay Connected: Gaming Trends, Insights, and Your Take
Thank you for reading. Every day I look at the gaming industry, read up on things, and talk to industry people. In my Medium blogs, I try to give my readers and 1.5K followers a solid sense of trends, analysis, investments, and more in gaming. If you found this interesting, I’d appreciate it if you shared the article — but even more, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
For a deeper insights into Ubisoft’s current situation, check out this deep dive
