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Cover of Les incompétents
Article

Les incompétents

Ubisoft is currently facing a severe corporate crisis characterized by declining market confidence, operational instability, and a failure to adapt to shifting industry trends.

  • Ubisoft's share price dropped 40% following an announcement of a major restructuring that includes the cancellation of six games and the delay of seven others.
  • The restructuring involves closing studios in Stockholm and Halifax, implementing a global return-to-office mandate, and laying off staff at Massive, RedLynx, and its Abu Dhabi studio.
  • Ubisoft's stock value has declined by over 90% since its 2018 peak, with recent investor dissatisfaction stemming from the sale of franchise rights to Tencent.
Hit PointsJan 2026
Cover of Major Organizational, Operational and Portfolio Reset to Reclaim Creative Leadership and Restore Sustainable Growth
Presentation8 pages

Major Organizational, Operational and Portfolio Reset to Reclaim Creative Leadership and Restore Sustainable Growth

Ubisoft has initiated a major organizational and operational reset designed to reclaim creative leadership and restore sustainable growth in an increasingly selective AAA market.

  • Ubisoft is targeting a €500 million reduction in fixed costs by March 2028 compared to FY23 levels to restore sustainable growth.
  • The company is restructuring into five specialized Creative Houses to focus on core franchises like Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six while improving operational agility.
  • Ubisoft has canceled six projects, including the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake and four unannounced titles, while extending development timelines for seven others to prioritize quality.
UbisoftJan 2026
Cover of Ubisoft Announces a Major Organizational, Operational and Portfolio Reset
Article

Ubisoft Announces a Major Organizational, Operational and Portfolio Reset

Ubisoft has announced a comprehensive organizational and portfolio reset aimed at reclaiming creative leadership and restoring sustainable growth.

  • Ubisoft is restructuring into five specialized Creative Houses—Vantage Studios, competitive shooters, live-service, immersive fantasy, and casual/family—to grant units full financial and creative ownership over their genres.
  • The company is targeting a total fixed cost reduction of €500 million since FY2023, aiming for a run-rate of €1.25 billion in total fixed costs by March 2028.
  • Financial outlooks for FY2026 project net bookings of approximately €1.5 billion and a non-IFRS EBIT loss of roughly €1 billion, driven by a €650 million one-off accelerated depreciation.
UbisoftJan 2026
Cover of Is It Finally Time To Switch Engines?
11 min
Thomas Brush11 min

Is It Finally Time To Switch Engines?

The primary thesis of this discussion is that game developers should prioritize consistency and problem-solving over the frequent, unproductive debate surrounding game engine selection.

  • Blaming a game engine for development issues or lack of success is a common distraction that rarely reflects the reality of professional game development.
  • Successful developers prioritize consistency and problem-solving over engine-hopping, as switching tools is often a form of procrastination that prevents project completion.
  • Engine-specific 'out-of-the-box' aesthetics can make games feel generic, so developers must be intentional with design to ensure their project has a unique look and feel.
Thomas BrushJan 2026
Cover of How To Make Indie Games In 2026 w/ Jonathan Blow — Full Time Game Dev Podcast Ep. 061
97 min
Thomas Brush97 min

How To Make Indie Games In 2026 w/ Jonathan Blow — Full Time Game Dev Podcast Ep. 061

The modern indie game landscape is defined by intense competition and a precarious pricing environment, necessitating a strategic shift toward long-term discoverability.

  • Jonathan Blow’s upcoming game, Order of the Sinking Star, represents a 10-year development cycle that involved building a custom game engine and a custom programming language from scratch.
  • Steam remains the most accessible platform for indie developers to reach a large audience, though developers must still navigate the difficulty of standing out in a crowded marketplace.
  • Large Language Models (LLMs) are effective for debugging specific issues by scanning multiple controllers and systems, but they struggle to maintain complex, multi-system constraints in larger codebases.
Thomas BrushDec 2025
Cover of Making A 3D Game Is Way Easier Than You Think (Retro 3d Game)
28 min
Thomas Brush28 min

Making A 3D Game Is Way Easier Than You Think (Retro 3d Game)

The process of developing a retro-style 3D game, specifically one capturing the aesthetic of late-1990s titles like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, can be achieved efficiently without advanced 3D modeling skills.

  • Retro-style 3D games can be developed without traditional modeling skills by utilizing free assets, basic geometric primitives in Unity, and simple texture mapping.
  • Visual cohesion in retro games is achieved by manually color-matching assets—such as grass, dirt, and water—to a unified palette and using a consistent skybox.
  • To achieve a retro aesthetic, developers can apply post-processing effects like posterization to reduce color depth and use pixelation filters on textures to mimic early 2000s graphics.
Thomas BrushDec 2025
Cover of How To Make Games Full Time (in 2026), 8 Years On One Game, Slop vs. Polished Games (Adam Younis)
55 min
Thomas Brush55 min

How To Make Games Full Time (in 2026), 8 Years On One Game, Slop vs. Polished Games (Adam Younis)

Achieving long-term financial sustainability in independent game development requires a shift away from traditional publisher reliance toward a diversified income model.

  • Long-term game development requires a sustainable financial model, often involving a hybrid approach of 50% contract work and 50% original IP development to maintain cash flow.
  • Accepting large publisher funding can be counterproductive for solo or small-team projects, as it often forces developers to prioritize rapid delivery milestones over the time needed to iterate and discover the game's true identity.
  • Developers with an established audience (e.g., 300,000+ subscribers) may not need the platform-specific traffic provided by Kickstarter, as they can leverage their existing community for launch support.
Thomas BrushDec 2025
Cover of Ubisoft Semi-Annual Financial Report
Article

Ubisoft Semi-Annual Financial Report

The Ubisoft semi-annual financial report for the period of April 1 to September 30, 2025, outlines a period of significant corporate restructuring and financial stabilization.

  • Ubisoft’s net debt reached €1.15 billion as of September 30, 2025, with plans to settle the balance following the completion of the Vantage Studios deal with Tencent.
  • The company reduced its headcount by 1,500 employees over the past year, leaving a total of 17,097 staff members as of September 30, 2025.
  • Net losses narrowed to €161.4 million for the period of April 1 to September 30, 2025, down from €246.5 million in the same period the previous year.
Game World ObserverNov 2025
Cover of Speculation around Ubisoft Earnings Delay Proves Unfounded
Article

Speculation around Ubisoft Earnings Delay Proves Unfounded

Ubisoft recently addressed market speculation regarding a six-day delay in its earnings release, clarifying that the postponement was strictly an accounting matter rather than a sign of corporate instability or a breakdown in investor relations.

  • Ubisoft's recent six-day earnings delay was caused by an accounting restatement involving new auditors and the revenue recognition of two specific partnerships, rather than corporate instability or a split with investor Tencent.
  • The company's partnership with Tencent remains on track, with a €1.16 billion ($1.25 billion) investment into the new subsidiary Vantage expected to close in the coming days.
  • Ubisoft’s total headcount has decreased to 17,097 employees as of September 2025, down from 17,782 in March 2025 and nearly 21,000 in 2022.
Game FileNov 2025
Cover of Second Time Lucky: Rise of the Steam Machines?
Article

Second Time Lucky: Rise of the Steam Machines?

The recent announcement of new hardware from Valve—specifically a second-generation Steam Machine, a new Steam controller, and the Steam Frame VR device—marks a significant evolution in the company’s strategy to expand its PC-centric ecosystem into the living room.

  • Valve is launching a second-generation Steam Machine, a new controller, and the Steam Frame VR device to extend its PC ecosystem into the living room.
  • Unlike the 2013 launch, the new hardware leverages the maturity of Proton to solve previous Linux emulation issues and build on the success of the Steam Deck.
  • Valve projects sales of 7–10 million units for the new Steam Machines over the next five years, targeting its existing base of 170–200 million monthly active Steam users.
GameDiscoverCoNov 2025
Cover of October's Top PlayStation Games by Copies Sold
Article

October's Top PlayStation Games by Copies Sold

The October 2025 PlayStation sales analysis highlights a robust period for both new AAA releases and established evergreen titles.

  • EA's FC 26 sold 3 million copies on PlayStation in October, bringing its total to over 8 million units on the platform and maintaining its position as a primary revenue anchor.
  • Sony's Ghost of Yotei launched with 2.7 million copies sold, establishing itself as a major single-player success despite selling at a slower pace than its predecessor due to the smaller PS5 install base.
  • Battlefield 6 experienced a significant surge in daily active users on PS5 following the launch of its free-to-play REDSEC mode and season 1, effectively reversing a post-launch engagement decline.
Alinea AnalyticsNov 2025
Cover of Ghost of Yotei Delivers Strong Opening: Europe
Article

Ghost of Yotei Delivers Strong Opening: Europe

The release of Ghost of Yotei has achieved a strong commercial debut across Europe, securing the number two position in the regional sales charts for the week ending October 5, 2025.

  • Ghost of Yotei debuted at No. 2 in the European GSD charts, with opening sales matching the performance of its 2020 predecessor, Ghost of Tsushima.
  • EA Sports FC 26 maintained the No. 1 position in Europe for the third consecutive week, despite a 62% week-on-week decline in unit sales.
  • Ghost of Yotei represents the strongest first-party PlayStation launch since Spider-Man 2 in October 2023.
The Game BusinessOct 2025