David Michaud-Cromp criticized his employer on his personal LinkedIn profile, and the response came fast. An Ubisoft Montréal lead ultimately got the boot, after speaking out publicly against the company’s return-to-office push.

Ubisoft – like most major AAA publishers and developers – has been under heavy fire since announcing a sweeping restructuring in January. The long-awaited Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake was canceled, multiple projects were delayed, and the company is bracing for additional layoffs. On top of that, Ubisoft is winding down remote work and moving back toward office-based operations. The entire package – including a voluntary redundancy program introduced at the Paris HQ – has drawn sharp criticism both inside and outside the company. Even Ubisoft Montréal team lead David Michaud-Cromp joined the chorus. Right after the announcement, he took to his own LinkedIn page to attack the mandatory return-to-office policy.

“So Ubisoft wants to restore five days in the office because they ‘believe in collaboration’… come on, we’re not stupid, we know exactly why you want five days back, and it’s not about efficiency or collaboration.”

Shortly afterward, Michaud-Cromp said he had been hit with a three-day unpaid disciplinary suspension. “The measure was presented to me as being connected to public comments I made about the company’s return-to-office policy, and an alleged breach of the duty of loyalty.” Then, in a follow-up post, he confirmed that Ubisoft had terminated him. “Today, I was terminated by Ubisoft, effective immediately. This was not my decision. I won’t be discussing internal details or circumstances. I’m taking time to regroup, and I’ll share my next steps when the time is right.”

When WCCFTech contacted Ubisoft for comment, a company representative issued the following statement. “Respectfully sharing feedback or opinions does not lead to dismissal. We have a clear Code of Conduct that outlines our shared expectations for working together safely and respectfully. Employees review and sign this code each year. When that code is breached, our established procedures apply, including escalating measures depending on the nature, severity, and repetition of the breach. We won’t comment further.”

Because neither Michaud-Cromp nor Ubisoft is willing – or able – to go into specifics, it’s likely we’ll never learn what exact line crossed the company’s threshold, or whether anything said during internal discussions also affected the outcome. What is clear is that Michaud-Cromp argues for a work environment built on strong communication between teammates – whether they’re remote, in-office, or hybrid. Speaking to Kotaku, he framed it like this. “In my experience, the effectiveness of remote or hybrid teams has less to do with physical proximity, and more to do with fundamentals like clarity of goals, trust, documentation, tooling, and communication practices.”

When Ubisoft made the return-to-office mandate official, the company claimed it would strengthen collaboration, including continuous knowledge sharing and collective dynamics across teams. According to Ubisoft, face-to-face work remains a key driver of efficiency, creativity, and success in an increasingly selective AAA market. The new office requirement – alongside layoffs already confirmed at multiple sites, including the Paris headquarters – has triggered protests from unions and employees. Unions representing Paris-based staff have called for a company-wide strike next week. Protests were also held in Halifax last week following the announcement that Ubisoft Halifax would be closed.

Source: WCCFTech, LinkedIn, LinkedIn, LinkedIn