Ubisoft Expands Massive Entertainment to Lead Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell, and New IP

Ubisoft has significantly expanded Swedish studio Massive Entertainment into a second major pillar of the publisher, consolidating control of the Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell franchises under one leadership structure. The reorganisation, announced this week, absorbs Ubisoft’s Creative House 2 cluster of studios and marks the publisher’s latest attempt to streamline its sprawling development operations.

Christoph Hartmann, who took on the general manager role at Creative House 2 earlier this year, now leads Massive Entertainment as general manager across its expanded footprint spanning Montreal, Paris, Sweden, and Toronto. “Bringing our teams together under one identity gives us the opportunity to combine the creative energy and expertise across Montreal, Paris, Sweden and Toronto to shape the next generation of these iconic franchises, create new games and IPs, and push our craft and technology forward,” Hartmann said in a statement.

What Massive Entertainment Now Controls

Massive Entertainment—best known for The Division series, Star Wars Outlaws, and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora—gains oversight of two major Tom Clancy franchises previously handled separately within Ubisoft’s structure. The studio also inherits multiple development teams across North America and Europe, centralising franchise leadership and development strategy under one brand identity.

Massive’s press release emphasised the studio’s “nearly three-decade legacy established in Sweden through its games and technology, earning the trust of players and recognition from industry peers alike.”

A New Original Game in the Works

Alongside the structural shift, Ubisoft confirmed that Massive Entertainment is developing an original IP titled March of Giants. No gameplay details, genre information, platforms, or release window have been disclosed beyond its name and status as an original game concept.

Part of Broader Ubisoft Restructuring

The expansion of Massive Entertainment mirrors Ubisoft’s earlier creation of Vantage Studios, a subsidiary formed following a €1.16 billion Tencent investment to oversee major franchises including Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six. With Massive now operating as the other multi-franchise subsidiary, Ubisoft is concentrating its portfolio around two strategic hubs.

The reorganisation follows a difficult period for Ubisoft’s workforce. In January, the company closed studios in Halifax and Stockholm and cut staff at Abu Dhabi, Redlynx, and Massive Entertainment itself. March saw Red Storm Entertainment—developer of Ghost Recon—reduced to a support studio after 105 layoffs. June brought further cuts, with Ubisoft shuttering studios in Winnipeg and Belgrade and reducing staff in Barcelona, totalling 380 job losses.

Why it matters

Players invested in Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell now have a single, high-profile studio leading both franchises’ futures. Massive Entertainment’s track record delivering large-scale multiplayer and single-player experiences across The Division series and Star Wars Outlaws suggests these franchises will benefit from consolidated creative oversight and shared technology pipelines. However, the earlier restructuring also saw Ghost Recon’s core development team at Red Storm downscaled significantly, raising questions about resource allocation as Massive balances these established brands alongside new IP development.

The March of Giants announcement signals Ubisoft’s continued commitment to original game creation despite its consolidation strategy, though the complete absence of details means players will need to wait for further reveals to understand what the studio is building.