It's been clear for some time that all is not well at Ubisoft. Between games not meeting the company's sales expectations, studio closures, downsizing elsewhere and sexual misconduct issues, it's been a rocky past several years for the company.But now it seems something else may be going on at the publisher. Just before it was set to hold a call with investors on Thursday, Ubisoft said it was delaying its half-year earnings report and halting trading of its shares. It has asked Euronext - the European stock market on which its shares are listed - to halt trading from November 14 until it publishes its earnings results "in the coming days."This could mean any number of things. Other companies have delayed earnings reports due to things like accounting issues. But halting trading of the company's shares could portend major news, such as a sale or Ubisoft becoming a private entity again. Engadget has contacted Ubisoft for comment.It was reported late last year that the founders of Ubisoft were looking to take the company private with the help of Tencent. That hasn't transpired as yet, but Ubisoft (with the help of a Tencent investment) did this year form a new subsidiary called Vantage Studios. That is now overseeing Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and Rainbow Six - three of Ubisoft's most important franchises.

When deciding which video game to buy, "Is it fun?" is no longer the only consideration. Given the state of the industry, "Do I want to support this company?" is arguably more important. Take, for example, Ubisoft, where things seem to unravel more each day. After the floundering publisher floated even more layoffs this week, workers at its Paris headquarters said, "Enough is enough." They're now calling for a three-day strike.Unions representing Ubisoft employees plan to strike from February 10 to 12. "With management being stubbornly entrenched in its authoritarian ways, we are calling Ubisoft employees across France to join this strike, along with the five unions present within the company," The Syndicat des Travailleureuses du Jeu Video (Video Game Worker's Union) wrote in a statement.The strike follows a series of heavy-handed cost-cutting moves at Ubisoft. It recently shut down its Halifax studio just 16 days after employees unionized. Last week, it closed its Stockholm studio and announced additional restructuring efforts worldwide. It also canceled six games and delayed seven others.Then, earlier this week, the Assassin's Creed publisher proposed cutting 200 jobs at its Paris headquarters. Under French labor law, the company would organize the cuts through the nation's Rupture Conventionnelle Collective (RCC) process. It would require a mutual agreement between the company and the labor union.Ubisoft CEO Yves GuillemotROBYN BECK via Getty ImagesAdding even more fuel to the fire, Ubisoft will now require workers to return to the office five days each week. (The company had previously agreed to two work-from-home days per week.) Although Ubisoft framed the mandate as being about efficiency and collaboration, it's easy to view this as a cudgel to further reduce its headcount. One Ubisoft developer, who hinted as much while voicing his opposition to the mandate on LinkedIn, said he was suspended without pay for three days as a punitive measure.The workers' union saw all of this and decided it was time to act. "We're calling for a HALT to management's obsession with penny-pinching and worsening our working conditions," the Syndicat des Travailleureuses du Jeu Video wrote. "It's time for a real accountability from company executives, starting from the top! Without the workers, and generous public funding, Ubisoft would never have been able to grow this much. WE are Ubisoft, and WE are shutting it down February 10th to 12th!"This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/ubisoft-173241918.html?src=rss