Ubisoft has certainly seen better days. As the week progresses, it appears the French developer is facing yet another massive issue—a potential strike come October. Staff members of Ubisoft France do not wish to comply with the company’s return-to-office call and also demand better pay amid rising prices.
According to gameindustry.biz’s report from Sept. 26, those working at Ubisoft’s French division have been “called to take part in a three-day strike” in October due to a dispute over the company’s decision to require workers to return to its offices at least three times a week. The strike, instigated by the French Video Game Workers Union (STJV), is planned to take place between Oct. 15 and 17, and comes because Ubisoft apparently made its decisions “without any tangible justification or any consultation with the workers’ representatives.”
“After more than five years of working efficiently in the current remote-work context, many of our colleagues have built or rebuilt their lives (family life, housing, parenthood, etc.) and simply cannot return to the previous working conditions,” the union said in a statement. Profit sharing and salary boost negotiations also reportedly fell through, further aggravating union members and pushing them toward a decision to strike.
This issue is yet another in the sea of troubles faced by the French developer. On Sept. 25, Ubisoft announced it would be launching an internal review caused by poor sales of Star Wars: Outlaws. The company also delayed Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, its next flagship entry to the long-running franchise, to Feb. 14, 2025, and cancelled all appearances on game shows until further notice. This caused its stock price to take a heavy hit— it’s down 23 percent in the past five days, and 50 percent in the last six months.
