Ubisoft Entertainment shares suffered their worst day on record on Thursday after the French video game publisher unveiled a sweeping reorganisation, studio closures, and the cancellation of six games, deepening concerns over its financial trajectory.
Shares of the “Assassin’s Creed” maker fell as much as 33% in delayed trading, leading losses on Paris’ SBF 120 index and marking the steepest one-day decline since the company’s 1996 initial public offering.
The stock was trading around €4.6, giving Ubisoft a market capitalisation of roughly €616 million ($720 million), according to market data.
The selloff follows years of declining share performance after the Covid-19 pandemic, as Ubisoft grappled with delayed releases, rising costs, and weakening bookings.
Major restructuring and studio closures
On Wednesday evening, Ubisoft announced a major organisational overhaul, including plans to split its operations into five creative divisions organised by game genre.
As part of the restructuring, the company said it would shut studios in Halifax, Canada, and Stockholm, while carrying out restructurings at studios in Abu Dhabi, Helsinki, and Malmö.
Ubisoft also confirmed it would cancel development on six games, including a highly anticipated remake of Prince of Persia, and delay an unannounced title by a year.
“Today’s market environment requires that the Group step-changes how it is organized and operates,” Yves Guillemot, Founder and CEO of Ubisoft, announced in the statement.
“The portfolio refocus will have a significant impact on the Group’s short term financial trajectory, particularly in fiscal years 2026 and 2027, but this reset will strengthen the Group and enable it to renew with sustainable growth and robust cash generation.”
The company said the restructuring triggered a €650 million write-down and that it now expects an operating loss of around €1 billion ($1.17 billion) for the financial year ending 2026.
Forecast cuts and cost-saving plans
Alongside the restructuring, Ubisoft sharply lowered its outlook.
The company now expects net bookings of around €1.5 billion ($1.75 billion) for the financial year ending 2026, down €330 million from previously issued guidance. It also withdrew its earlier guidance for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.
Ubisoft said it would consider selling assets as part of efforts to stabilise its finances.
Cost-cutting measures are expected to generate €500 million ($580 million) in savings, with fixed costs projected to fall to €1.25 billion ($1.46 billion) on a run-rate basis by March 2028, compared with €1.75 billion ($2.35 billion) in the financial year ending 2023.
The company separately said it would trim €200 million of costs over the next two years.
The company also warned it would lose about €1 billion on an adjusted basis before interest and tax this fiscal year, compared with a previous expectation of roughly breakeven.
Market reaction and investor impact
Analysts reacted sharply to the announcement. “This is a dire profit warning in a long string of unmitigated disasters,” said analysts at Bernstein.
The plunge marked a significant win for short sellers.
Citadel held a short position equivalent to 0.89% of Ubisoft shares as of Tuesday, implying profits of roughly €240 million from Thursday’s move, according to French securities filings.
London-based Marchant MC also disclosed a short position worth 0.56% of the company.
Ubisoft’s shares have now lost nearly half their value over the past year and are far below their 2018 peak market capitalisation of around €11 billion, underscoring the scale of challenges facing the publisher as it attempts to reset its business.
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