this post was submitted on 07 Jan 2026
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/36712639

Ubisoft's first North American union, located at their Halifax, Nova Scotia studio, was certified on December 18th, 2025. Now, not even a full 30 days later, Ubisoft Halifax is closing.

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[–] U7826391786239@lemmy.zip 356 points 4 days ago (4 children)

"we'd rather amputate that entire source of revenue than pay workers fairly"

[–] zd9@lemmy.world 188 points 4 days ago (14 children)

Capital would rather burn everything down than lose a penny to the working class. Yes in this example, highly paid developers are considered working class relative to billionaire owners

[–] Hadriscus@jlai.lu 84 points 4 days ago (5 children)

I like to think that we're all working class, and that to subdivide classes further benefits only the capital

[–] zd9@lemmy.world 21 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Yes in reality, like 90% of people are working class, but I just wanted to make that designation for anyone reading it and going "software engineers aren't working class". I mean it in the more general working class vs capital owners.

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[–] Don_alForno@feddit.org 55 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Everybody who has to work for a living is part of the working class. Further division is just "divide et impera" by the owners.

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[–] very_well_lost@lemmy.world 37 points 4 days ago (13 children)

highly paid developers

Not in the games industry, lol

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[–] hayvan@piefed.world 24 points 4 days ago

Higher wage working class is working class. If your income doesn't come from owning things, if you put in work to get your income, you are working class. Division among ourselves only weakens us.

[–] 87Six@lemmy.zip 27 points 4 days ago (6 children)

Devs are working class

Because they actually work on products literally, they're the base of their profession with pretty much nobody under them bar a few juniors if any

I fear the day when being a dev like me becomes so normal I make minimum wage and can't afford anything anymore... It's seriously terrifying to realize I worked and learned all this time and it may be for nothing in like 10 years..

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[–] U7826391786239@lemmy.zip 21 points 4 days ago

it's not even just about the money really. it's just as much about control. you have to make an example of any uppity unionizing peasants right at the start, lest you end up with your entire corral of cubicle drones strutting around thinking they have some kind of say in any aspect of their work environment

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[–] A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 53 points 4 days ago

“we’d rather amputate that entire source of revenue than pay workers fairly”

Oh come now, Its not just about money.

Its about making sure frat boy culture of sexual harassment and assault continue unabated.

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[–] glitchdx@lemmy.world 15 points 3 days ago

I'll just add it to the pile of reasons why ubisoft is on my shit list alongside ea, epic, and activision.

[–] unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz 12 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Next thing I'll learn will be that Splinter Cell was a pro fascist story all along

[–] beejboytyson@lemmy.world 9 points 3 days ago

"Wait your saying the guy that goes in and forcibly changes country regimes with murder is a baddie? No that can't be it...."

[–] LoafedBurrito@lemmy.world 33 points 3 days ago (1 children)

The open corruption and lack of empathy for the working class is just embarrassing. I hate EVERY company now since they only care about shares. They don't even consider us as human, we are simply just tools for them and can be thrown away at any moment.

[–] Doc_Crankenstein@slrpnk.net 6 points 3 days ago

They always have. The owners of industry crave for the days of the Golden Age of Capitalism where they get to be the robber barons instead of just hearing tales about their Grandpa.

[–] Adderbox76@lemmy.ca 78 points 4 days ago (16 children)

As far as I'm concerned, unionization should be government mandated for every company everywhere in every industry.

But unfortunately we live in hell.

[–] slappyfuck@lemmy.ca 13 points 4 days ago

Absolutely this. We need mandated unions for every single company that exists. And with loopholes closed, like offshoring/outsourcing, corporate “headquarters” is a closet in Delaware, etc.

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[–] SethTaylor@lemmy.world 34 points 3 days ago

Jesus fucking christ so blatantly evil

[–] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 8 points 3 days ago

Got it. No more Ubisoft support and no more money given. I'm not a big fan of unions but with no federal laws to protect the workers I am even less of a fan of union busters.

[–] Binturong@lemmy.ca 127 points 4 days ago (1 children)

If the Canadian government were real it would exact punishing fines on the company's Canadian held assets in response to this. And I don't mean cost of business fees, I mean hurtful costs, because these giant fucking companies seriously damage Canadian lives when they just rugpull the labour after making massive profits of Canadian operations. There is no justifiable reason to side with Ubisoft or their scumsucking management here.

[–] someone@lemmy.today 17 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (4 children)

I completely agree. This isn't so much a failure of business; it's a failure of the government to properly hurt businesses that enact policies that hurt workers and consumers. And in democratic countries with voters, it's also the failure of the voters.

This is why we need people like Lina Khan to be given much more power in society. There are good, liberal economists out there who understand that if you don't regulate externalities, then market systems will cause extreme disfunction in society. Smart economists understand this, elite rich people understand it, the problem is that the bottom tier of society that is ignorant and believes in religious myths is easily deceived by the upper classes.

The result is a society with progressively more unequal wealth distribution, rapidly descending into environmental hell, with a public that is mostly confused, religious, and idioticly upset about market conditions, but glad the evil trans girl won't be able to play softball.

All of these issues are part of the same problem: how do you convince the poor and stupid to not get tricked by the elite again? But perhaps it's just impossible. After all, the poor are mostly religious and believe in crazy things like virgin births and flat earth... Until the poor reject such lunacy, or society becomes so awful that they are compelled to reject it, there's really not much hope for change.

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[–] Jaysyn@lemmy.world 78 points 4 days ago (3 children)

My 10+ year long Ubisoft boycott still looking like a good idea.

[–] Magnum 15 points 4 days ago (4 children)

I started to Boycott Ubisoft when they started online DRM checks for single player games that you could not play offline anymore. It was with the release of Assassins Creed 2 and I think it was Settler 7. That was about 16 years ago.

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[–] NikkiDimes@lemmy.world 13 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Eh, I haven't boycott Ubisoft. But also, they don't make good games so I haven't bought any either. Might just make it official after this though.

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[–] MonkRome@lemmy.world 26 points 3 days ago (5 children)

It's so easy to not buy games. When was the last good game they made? I guess I'll continue to ignore their catalog.

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[–] orioler25@lemmy.world 162 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Wow, a whole unionized and competent studio now free to pursue internally chosen productions? I sure hope they don't get some of those "Canadian Heritage" media subsidies. Seriously though this is the shit the state should be funding, it'd be a shame to have this kind of resource squandered.

They realy could make another clair obscur

[–] dellish@lemmy.world 18 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Yep. Rename to Unisoft and start making good games.

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[–] SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world 25 points 3 days ago

Solvent corporations shouldn't be legally allowed to dissolve positions.

Nothing will meaningfully improve until the rich fear for their lives

[–] tonytins@pawb.social 141 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Ubisoft is just seeding their own demise.

[–] tburkhol@lemmy.world 68 points 4 days ago (7 children)

They weren't my favorite studio before, but they're definitely never getting another dime from me. There's a lot of fish in the sea.

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[–] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 110 points 4 days ago
[–] Strider@lemmy.world 8 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Haha, fuck ubi.

I hope they open a new studio.

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[–] cozzy@futurology.today 6 points 3 days ago

Lol i dont even play ubi games anymore they dont put out much good stuff

[–] jali67@lemmy.zip 5 points 3 days ago

They’re really up there like EA in terms of shit

[–] borth@sh.itjust.works 76 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Right... They closed it as a "cost-cutting measure" and "not because the studio unionized". This is where the lawmakers are just letting everyone know that they are garbage to be walked all over. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that "cost-cutting" a studio that just unionized is because they unionized, because a union means they have to start paying their workers their fair share, which means "higher costs" to them, when it should've been like that from the start.

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[–] Suavevillain@lemmy.world 17 points 3 days ago

Ubisoft just continues to be awful.

[–] EtAl@lemmy.dbzer0.com 50 points 4 days ago (5 children)

Whelp, I already de facto boycotting Ubisoft since I'm a patent gamer. Guess I'll actively boycott them now.

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[–] Balldowern@lemmy.zip 15 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Now all Canada needs to do is legalize piracy on Ubisoft products.

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[–] muhyb@programming.dev 40 points 4 days ago
[–] Fjdybank@lemmy.ca 28 points 4 days ago (4 children)

Anyone notice that Halifax is spelt 3 different ways in the article?

My personal favourite is Hailfox.

[–] RickyRigatoni@retrolemmy.com 16 points 4 days ago (3 children)
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[–] flandish@lemmy.world 38 points 4 days ago

capitalism is terrorism

[–] Shamber@lemmy.world 16 points 4 days ago (3 children)

So apparently being a French or Canadian company doesn't necessarily mean that you respect or understand unions, I thought that was mostly American practice, I was wrong

[–] 0tan0d@lemmy.world 11 points 4 days ago

French companies outside of France might as well be American with the way they treat non French workers.

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[–] DudeImMacGyver@kbin.earth 31 points 4 days ago

Ubisoft is a dumpster fire of a company I'll never buy from again.

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