The future of the highly anticipated upcoming Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag remake has seemingly fallen into uncertainty over the last week or so. Following the announcement of some major changes being made at Ubisoft, the original 2026 release window may no longer seem so realistic for this title. But what exactly are these changes that have occurred at Ubisoft, and how do they affect the development of AC: Black Flag remake? If you’re an eager fan looking to find out, we’ll be diving into this topic below.
How Recent Ubisoft Changes Are Affecting the Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Remake
Ubisoft has been facing significant and unfortunate layoffs, with several waves of layoffs and delays occurring throughout the end of 2024 – the end of 2025. In early 2025 alone, just under 200 employees were cut from Ubisoft as part of their downsizing. At the end of 2025, further layoffs continued with several smaller projects being scrapped.
Leading into January 2026, further job losses have taken place. Reportedly, over 150 employees were made redundant, giving followers the first hint that more drastic restructuring would be taking place, and promptly. During the end stretch of January 2026, the Canadian and Sweden team locations were disbanded, removing the roles of hundreds of employees.
Estimations of how many staff have been affected in this restructuring could surpass as many as 3000 individuals. Reasons for these drastic measures include significant game delays, underperforming or cancelled projects, and an increase in production costs vs revenue growth, among other factors.
This has led to the termination of several notable projects, with the most significant being the upcoming Prince of Persia remake – which originally had been rumored for a January 2026 release date. To go from that to never being released at all is quite a significant flip, and only proves just how big of a move Ubisoft is currently making. Due to these several games now being cancelled or delayed, this has left fans wondering where within this limbo that their most anticipated projects may reside. With the Prince of Persia remake being axed, will Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag follow the same fate? Let’s take a look at what evidence we have so far.
How Will Ubisoft’s New Direction Influence the Development of this remake?
Now, Ubisoft is taking a different approach and splitting off into five different main studios, or ‘creative houses’. Each one of these creative houses is set to specialize in a particular genre of game, from open-world franchises to live-service games or shooters. Each division will have a unique team, budget, and goals, in the hope of streamlining the development process for future Ubisoft titles.
Unfortunately, this is quite an enormous restructuring. Just because not every game was hit with a cancellation doesn’t make them exempt from being affected one way or another. Aside from the cancellations, there has also been confirmation that six currently unknown titles have also been delayed. This is an effort to give development teams more time to execute quality products and successful game launches.
Reportedly, the AC Black Flag remake is likely to fall into that category of games that have been delayed. For more context, Ubisoft has stated that one of the games has been delayed from 2026 to 2027. Many fans believe this to be the anticipated Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag remake, as this game was reportedly set for a 2026 release. All things aside, it is now highly unlikely that fans will see this one reach stores any earlier than 2027, regardless of prior plans.
Ubisoft stated that they’ve delayed a game from fiscal 26 until fiscal 27. It’s believed this is the Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Remake.
They cancelled 3 new IP
They cancelled a mobile game.
They’ve postponed “certain negotions” involving their new model.— Destin (@DestinLegarie) January 21, 2026
What Does This Mean For the Future of Assassin’s Creed?
While things may look a bit iffy or up in the air for the Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag remake, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the entire franchise is doomed. As of right now, the Black Flag remake has not outright been cancelled, so we can only presume a delay with intentions to see the game through – at least until Ubisoft notifies fans otherwise.
Furthermore, Assassin’s Creed is Ubisoft’s best-selling IP to date. Because of that, it’s highly unlikely that gamers will see these titles cease any time soon. After all, despite mixed opinions leading up to release, the latest entry, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, still managed to pull in over 3 million players in its first week, as well as produce a Nintendo Switch 2 release.
Keeping everything in mind, even if the final sales numbers of AC Shadows flopped in comparison to previous entries (currently undisclosed by Ubisoft), it’s very likely that Ubisoft would just call it there for the series and throw in the towel. Besides, if the Black Flag remake finishes development and is deemed a success, that could open up the door for other AC game remakes, too. After all, there’s a reason Pokemon players go crazy each time a new remake is announced – fans want that nostalgia of revisiting familiar environments and characters, whilst also feeling like a ‘fresh’ experience.
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