A screenshot from Star Wars Outlaws (2024), Ubisoft

A French video game union Syndicat des Travailleurs·ses du Jeu Vidéo called for Ubisoft employees to strike as the company teeters on the brink following its huge failure with Star Wars Outlaws and delaying Assassin’s Creed Shadows to February.

A screenshot from Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft

Syndicat des Travailleurs·ses du Jeu Vidéo called for Ubisoft employees to strike on October 15, 16, and 17th after the company demanded employees begin working in the company’s offices for 3 days per week for all employees.

The union also shared that it believes Ubisoft made this move given it knows “the consequence of its decision will be the loss of our colleagues’ jobs, the disorganization of many game projects, and the drastic increase in psychosocial risks for those who remain.

A screenshot from Star Wars Outlaws (2024), Ubisoft

Furthermore, it noted, “This decision is announced immediately after the failure of the profit-sharing negotiations. Exactly like previous salary negociations: management’s proposals were innaceptable, the negociations’ timetable was appalling, and management was deaf to the proposals of the various Employee representatives.”

Given this the union stated, “To express our anger, we call all Ubisoft employees in France to a first strike on October 15, 16 and 17.”

A screenshot from XDefiant (2023), Ubisoft

The union then shared its demands from Ubisoft. First it wants “A formal agreement on remote work: with a due process of real negotiation between management and unions. Not an arbitrary decision taken several months in advance. One which guarantees that each person can freely choose its number of remote days and when they are in the week, as well as beeing counted by the month and not by the week.”

Second, the union demands, “An immediate increase in all salaries to compensate for the drop in our living standards in recent years. The restoration of the profit-sharing at a 60% objective. The end of the gender pay gap and a higher increase in low salaries.”

And finally, it wants Ubisoft to listen to “employees opinions by the implementation of a “social dialogue” worthy of the name. Management seems indeed to confuse monologue with dialogue.”

A screenshot from Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (2023), Massive Entertainment

This call for a strike comes the day after Ubisoft announced it was delaying Assassin’s Creed Shadows and significantly reduced its net bookings outlook for its second quarter by 30% down from €500 million to between €350-370 million.

It also lowered its yearly net bookings expectations to €1.95 billion and revealed that it expects “around break-even non-IFRS operating income and free cash flow.”

A screenshot of Skull and Bones (2024), Ubisoft

What do you make of the union calling for a strike against Ubisoft?