Splinter Cell Remake Unaffected After Ubisoft Toronto Cuts 40 Jobs

Ubisoft confirmed that 40 positions at its Toronto studio will be cut as part of the publisher’s wider restructuring, and that work on the Splinter Cell remake remains in active development and was “unaffected by the redundancies.” The company told IGN that “The Toronto studio continues development on the Splinter Cell game and serves as a co-development partner on Rainbow Six, along with supporting additional co-development projects.”

The headcount reduction equals roughly 8 percent of Ubisoft Toronto’s workforce, based on the studio’s staff size of about 500 reported by MobileSyrup and VGC’s estimate that the 40 layoffs represent “around 8% of workers.” IGN relayed Ubisoft’s wording: “Following the recent announcement of the final phase of Ubisoft's global cost-savings plan and the discontinuation of projects, Ubisoft Toronto will be reducing its workforce by 40 roles.”

Ubisoft repeated a standard company response about supporting affected employees. “This decision was not taken lightly and does not in any way reflect the talent, dedication, or contributions of the individuals affected. Our priority now is to support them through this transition with comprehensive severance packages and robust career placement assistance,” the publisher said in the statement reproduced across multiple outlets.

The Splinter Cell remake itself was first announced in December 2021 and is being rebuilt in Ubisoft’s Snowdrop engine, the same engine behind The Division and used on recent titles including Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Star Wars Outlaws, per VGC and IGN. IGN has published concept art credited to Ubisoft, while MobileSyrup notes that no gameplay footage from the remake has been shown publicly. VGC also reports the project recently re-appointed a director, though no name was provided in the available coverage.

Ubisoft Toronto will continue co-development work across the company’s slate, including contributions to Rainbow Six projects and support on Rainbow Six Siege under lead developer Ubisoft Montreal. MobileSyrup’s reporting highlights Toronto’s past lead roles on Splinter Cell: Blacklist (2013), Watch Dogs: Legion (2020), and Far Cry 6 (2021), plus narrative contributions to Star Wars Outlaws (2024). An internal email obtained by MobileSyrup said Toronto will remain “a key contributor to several co-development mandates and service teams.”

The Toronto cuts arrive amid a broader “major reset” Ubisoft announced last month, a cost-savings push that has already included confirmed studio closures in Stockholm and Halifax and the cancellation of titles such as Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake. GamesIndustry.biz reported counts that the restructuring led to six canceled games, seven postponed projects, and two studio closures, while GamesRadar+ flagged a proposed voluntary redundancy plan affecting some 200 roles at Ubisoft’s Paris organization and quoted Ubisoft’s investor language promising to “rightsize the new organization.”

MobileSyrup first published the Toronto layoffs and the internal email, and GamesIndustry.biz and IGN subsequently reproduced Ubisoft’s statement. For now the clearest takeaway for players is that Splinter Cell is still in development on Snowdrop, but the studio-level cuts underscore how Ubisoft’s corporate reset is reshaping teams that have led major releases.