Ubisoft Employee Whistleblower Comes Forward on Internal Stock Scandal, Looming Mass Layoffs

Anonymous Facebook Post Alleges Insider Trading, Employee Betrayal, and Imminent Collapse

Ubisoft is once again under fire like crazy these days (and for good reason) — but now this time, it’s not coming from gamers, it’s coming from the inside.

In an anonymous Facebook comment thread, an alleged self-identified Ubisoft employee dropped a bombshell allegation about Ubisoft and what’s happening behind closed doors at the French publishing giant. While this account is unconfirmed and anonymous, it paints a devastating picture of betrayal, financial manipulation, and employee exploitation that—if true—could set the stage for a class-action lawsuit and major reputational fallout. As always with these rumor stories, take it with a grain of salt and for your own info/entertainment.

The anonymous poster claims that since 2015, Ubisoft had been encouraging employees to take stock shares in lieu of traditional bonuses, offering them at these so-called “preferential” prices. Many had reportedly poured their savings—and even took out loans—to buy in, trusting that their investment would grow alongside the company they helped build. Now before I even go any further, while this is not financial advise... Hearing this I can't help but step in and say this probably isn't the smartest financial move to make typically, but at the same time, we're talking about game developers, not econmic professors, so in a certain light, it can be almost understandable that they would be duped into such a ploy...

“UbiSoft f*cks their employees big time! Since 2015 most of them took their bonuses and invested their own money in Ubi shares… Now, with the creation of the new entity, moving the most profitable IPs under it and opening the path for the old entity bankruptcy, their money are worth nothing. Most of them are bought at $30 per share.”

That’s hundreds of millions of dollars in stock—now circling the proverbial drain.

The employee goes on to say that many developers were required to hold onto their shares for five years, locked in to them and making it impossible to exit their positions before Ubisoft’s stock began its long slide. As of now, those shares are worth only a fraction of what employees paid for them originally—some reportedly down 85%.

“They were holding it the past few years, as the stock plummeted, waiting to improve… At this point they have jack sh*t. Either sell at 15% of its initial value, and lose money, or just wait for bankruptcy and get f**ked.”

To make matters worse, this alleged whistleblower says that offering shares in lieu of bonuses—especially with inside knowledge of the company’s future direction—may have crossed legal lines... Not that Ubisoft is a company I'd personally trust to do things the right way but YIKES.

“That’s a felony, considering it’s an openly traded company… that’s insider trading.”

And while Ubisoft has been laser-focused on lawyering up—implementing DEI policies and harassment crackdowns to sanitize its public image—this anonymous poster suggests they’ve been simultaneously preparing legal defenses not against outside threats, but instead - get this - against their own employees.

“Lawyers are actually prepared to keep the company safe from an employee lawsuit.”

The Tencent Liferaft

What adds fuel to the ongoing burning Springfield tire-fire is Ubisoft’s recent move with Tencent. The new partnership I covered previously between the two companies has now resulted in the creation of a new entity—one that now controls the publisher’s most profitable IPs, which, in effect - stripping them from the original Ubisoft corporate body. This has led to my and many others speculation that Ubisoft is being gutted on purpose, potentially to declare bankruptcy, shed its debt (in the billions), and escape its obligations—including ...to its own devs. Employees at Ubisoft see this happening right before their eyes, and are powerless to stop it.

If true, Ubisoft is preparing to let the original company die while transferring value to a new Tencent-backed shell. It’s a textbook corporate sleight-of-hand—and those holding the bag are the very people who made the games. The employees themselves.

Mass Layoffs on the Horizon?

This aligns with previous rumors that Ubisoft could be facing upwards of 10,000 or more layoffs as part of its restructuring out of the current near 20,000 employee company currently. The anonymous source paints a bleak picture of morale inside the company right now, describing staff as “pissed” and blindsided.

When one commenter asked why devs didn’t simply cash out when Ubisoft’s trajectory became obvious, the anonymous insider replied:

“Because those are normal people, not traders... They had agreement to not sell for 5 years.”

It’s worth noting that Ubisoft stock recently saw yet another mini dip—but the whistleblower suspects it’s not due to any kind of renewed confidence. Quite the opposite. It could be devs dumping their shares while they still can, taking a smaller loss now instead of the massive one that looms.

“The recent bump on the stock prices is exactly because people are taking the little loss, instead of the big incoming one.”

Smoke Signals from a Sinking Ship

This report is still unconfirmed, and Ubisoft has not responded with any comment. But if even part of it is true, it would signal the beginning of Ubisoft’s final act to me—one where the devs who built the company’s legacy over the past 30+ years are left financially ruined, betrayed by a corporation they originally trusted.

If these allegations gain traction or are corroborated by additional insiders, Ubisoft could be facing more than bad press—it could be the start of a major reckoning. Hell, the way things have been going over there, I'd argue, its only a matter of time.

~Smash