• News

Ubisoft closes Halifax Studio weeks after unionization

The studio previously developed Assassin's Creed Rebellion.

Donovan Erskine

January 7, 2026 9:50 AM

Ubisoft

1

Halifax Studio, the Ubisoft subsidiary that most recently developed Assassin’s Creed Rebellion, is being closed by its parent company. This comes just weeks after workers at the studio formed a union, though Ubisoft says that’s not what led to the shutdown.

Ubisoft confirmed the closure of Halifax Studio in a statement to IGN. In it, they claim that the move was made in an effort to "streamline operations, improve efficiency, and reduce costs." According to the company, it had nothing to do with the 61 employees who announced that they were forming a union under the Game & Media Workers Guild of Canada. IGN also obtained a statement from the workers at Halifax:

Halifax Studio was founded in 2010 and then rebranded to Ubisoft Halifax after the Assassin’s Creed maker acquired it in 2015. Specializing in mobile games, the studio developed Assassin’s Creed Rebellion, a free-to-play game released for iOS and Android devices in 2018. The official website says the studio is made up of over 80 employees, but today’s report states that there are 71.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_