Ubisoft has recently announced a significant change within its Creative House 2 division, which includes popular titles like Tom Clancy’s The Division, Ghost Recon, and Splinter Cell, as well as the upcoming “March of Giants” IP. This business unit will now be known as Massive Entertainment, adopting the renowned brand of the Swedish studio that originally created The Division franchise. The original studio, along with teams from Ubisoft Toronto, Paris, and Montreal, will all be part of this newly named Creative House.
The rebranded Massive Entertainment, alongside other Creative Houses, will be tasked with the development and long-term growth of its existing brands. Initially focused on competitive and co-op shooters, the unit expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of March of Giants from Amazon.
“Effective immediately, the development teams responsible for these franchises in Montréal, Paris, Sweden, and Toronto will operate under the Massive Entertainment banner,” the company stated, emphasizing the collaboration of creative and technological expertise to evolve these franchises and create engaging experiences for dedicated players.
Leading Massive Entertainment is industry veteran Christoph Hartmann, who took on the role of General Manager in June, bringing with him a wealth of experience from Amazon Game Studios and 2K Games. The studio also welcomed Natalie Francis as the new studio manager of the Malmo office, previously holding senior positions at Avalanche Studios and DICE.
Previously an independent studio founded in Malmo, Sweden in 1997, Massive Entertainment was acquired by Ubisoft in 2008 after being divested by Activision. Known for titles like Ground Control, World In Conflict, and The Division franchise, the studio also developed the widely used Snowdrop engine and worked on projects such as Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Star Wars Outlaws. In January, the studio was reported to be working on an undisclosed tech project when staff layoffs occurred at Massive and Ubisoft Stockholm.
“Massive Entertainment has always been characterized by passion, ambition, and exceptional talent, and we are now looking towards the future,” said Hartmann. “Bringing our teams together under a unified identity allows us to harness the collective creativity and expertise across different locations to shape the next chapter of our iconic franchises, develop new games and IPs, and advance our craft and technology.”
The transition to the Creative Houses structure was announced in late 2025 and officially confirmed in January 2026. Leadership roles have been announced for all Creative Houses except for House 4, with Julien Bares appointed as General Manager for Houses 3 and 5, and Thomas A leading the central production resource Creative Network.
The current organization structure includes:
- Vantage Studios (joint venture with Tencent)
- Co-CEOs: Christophe Derennes and Charlie Guillemot
- Brands: Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six
- Locations: Barcelona, Montreal Vantage, Quebec, Saguenay, Sherbrooke, Sofia
- Massive Entertainment
- General Manager: Christoph Hartmann
- Brands: Tom Clancy’s The Division, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, March of Giants, unspecified new IP
- Studios: Paris, Massive/Malmo, Montreal, Toronto
- Creative House 3
- General Manager: Julien Bares (alongside Creative House 5)
- Brands: Brawlhalla, For Honor, Riders Republic, Skull and Bones, The Crew
- Studios: Blue Mammoth, Ivory Tower, Montreal
- Creative House 4
- General Manager: Not yet announced
- Brands: Anno, Beyond Good and Evil, Heroes of Might and Magic, Prince of Persia, Rayman
- Studios: Mainz, Milan, Montpelier, Nadeo
- Creative House 5
- General Manager: Julien Bares (alongside Creative House 3)
- Brands: Growtopia, Hasbro portfolio
- Studios: Abu Dhabi, Barcelona Mobile, Ketchapp, Kalibri Games, Paris, Ubisoft Mobile Games, Ubisoft Paris Mobile
- Creative Network
- General Manager: Thomas Andrén
- Purpose: Central production support
- Studios: Annecy, Berlin, Bordeaux, Chengdu, Da Nang, Dusseldorf, Kyiv/Odessa/Warsaw, Paris, Pune, Manila, RedLynx, Red Storm, Reflections, Romania, Shanghai, Singapore
The shift to the Creative Houses model also involved delays and cancellations of multiple projects, marking a final phase of cost-cutting after a period of restructuring due to underperformance. This restructuring included the closure of studios in various locations and staff layoffs, with the firm refraining from confirming the completion of this process.