Wikipedia

Ubisoft Montreal

Ubisoft Divertissements Inc.,doing business asUbisoft Montreal,is a Canadianvideo game developerand a studio ofUbisoftbased inMontreal.

Ubisoft Divertissements Inc.
Ubisoft Montreal
FormerlyUbi Soft Montreal (1997–2003)[a]
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
Founded25 April 1997;27 years ago(1997-04-25)
Headquarters
Montreal
,
Canada
Number of employees
4,000+ (2023)[2]
ParentUbisoft
Websitemontreal.ubisoft

The studio was founded in April 1997 as part of Ubisoft's growth into worldwide markets, with subsidies from the governments of Montreal, Quebec, and Canada to help create new multimedia jobs. The studio's initial products were low-profile children's games based on existingintellectual property.Ubisoft Montreal's break-out titles were 2002'sTom Clancy's Splinter Celland 2003'sPrince of Persia: The Sands of Time.Subsequently, the studio continued to develop sequels and related games in both series, and developing its own intellectual properties such asAssassin's Creed,Far Cry,Watch Dogs,andFor Honor.

By October 2022, the studio employed over 4,000 staff, making it the largest in the world.[3]The studio helped to establish Montreal as a creative city, and brought other video game developers and publishers to establish studios there.

History

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Background and foundation (1997–2001)

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Following Ubisoft'sinitial public offeringin 1996, theMontreuil, France-based publisher began looking to expand into more global markets.[4]Establishing a studio inQuebecwas of strong interest to the company; according to Ubisoft's CEO Yannis Mallat, a Quebec studio would allow them to bring inFrench-speaking employeesand help with communication with the Montreuil headquarters, and was in close proximity to the United States, one of the largest markets for video games.[5]

ThePeck Building,formerly housing the John W. Peck Shirt and Clothing Factory, became Ubisoft Montreal's headquarters in 1997 (1910).

At the same time, the city ofMontrealin Quebec was looking to recover from job losses due to disappearing manufacturing and textile industries from the early 1990s. The controlling political party,Parti Québécois(PQ), pursued new job creation in technology, computers, and multimedia.[6]Lobbyist Sylvain Vaugeois, hearing that Ubisoft was searching for jobs, came up with a plan calledPlan Mercurewhich would incentivize Ubisoft to found a studio in Montreal by having the government subsidize each employeeCA$25,000for five years, but the government rejected this plan, believing it was too expensive for use of public funds. Vaugeois still went on to meet with Ubisoft, inviting them to visit Montreal and suggestingPlan Mercurewas viable, and upon their visit, discovered that they had been misled, leading to some embarrassment on the city and province. PQ representatives of Quebec's and Montreal's government met with Ubisoft to convince them to establish a studio in Quebec after hearing that Ubisoft was considering a studio instead nearBostonor inNew Brunswick,and recognised they needed to follow on some form of Vaugeois'Plan Mercureto convince Ubisoft to form a studio in Montreal.Pierre Pettigrew,theMinister of Human Resources Developmentworked with the Quebec and federal government to come to a solution, whereby the two governments would split the previously consideredCA$25,000per employee (CA$15,000from the Quebec government) to provide 500 new jobs to young persons and provide training in the multimedia sector.[7]Ubisoft was agreeable to this, and established Ubisoft Montreal (formally named Ubisoft Divertissements Inc.) on 25 April 1997.[8][9]The studio was founded in offices in thePeck Building,a former textile factory, located in theMile Endneighbourhood alongSaint-Laurent Boulevard.[10][11]

Martin Tremblay joined the studio as executive vice-president in 1999, and was promoted tochief operating officera year later.[12]

The studio began with 50 employees, with half having coming from Ubisoft's Montreuil headquarters, and the other hired in under the government subsidies. According to Mallet, a founding myth of the company was that they had thrown the new employees in a room with computers and were told to develop a game, but Mallet did acknowledge that there was a lack of experience in game development from this group.[13]Initially, the studio developed children's games based on licensedintellectual property(IP) such asDonald Duck: Goin' Quackersand games based on thePlaymobilseries of toys.[14]While these were not critically significant games, they sold well to keep the studio profitable, and allowed them to establish an internal program for creating their own IP.[13]

IP establishment and growth (2002–2008)

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Ubisoft Montreal's break-out title came throughTom Clancy's Splinter Cell,released in 2002.[15]Prior to this, Ubisoft had closed down an internal development studio at the New York offices in 1999, which had been working on a game calledThe Drift,a third-person shooter with elements of stealth. Ubisoft had found the game lacking cohesion, and despite efforts to rebrand it as a potentialJames Bondgame, Ubisoft opted to halt development and transfer key staff and all the work in progress to Ubisoft Montreal.[13]The next year in 2000, Ubisoft acquiredRed Storm Entertainment,which had successfully produced games based onTom Clancynovels. The acquisition included the license to develop more Tom Clancy-based games, as well as access to theUnreal game engine.[13]The Ubisoft Montreal team started experimenting with modern spy gadgetry within the existingDriftelements, and found some potential promise to make a game in theTom Clancy'sseries from it. WithMetal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Libertysoon to be released, Ubisoft Montreal was tasked with creating theMetal Gear Solidkiller, which resulted in the firstSplinter Cellgame. The Montreal studio continued to develop several of theSplinter Cellsequels through 2010.[13]

In 2001, Ubisoft acquired the rights to theMyst,Chessmaster,andPrince of PersiaIPs fromMattelandThe Learning Company.Mattel was adamant about getting thePrince of Persiaseries and assured that the Montreal studio got the first chance to work with it.[13]Ubisoft Montreal took the original 2D platforming games into a third-person 3D perspective, incorporatingparkour,as well as bringing the series' original creatorJordan Mechneras a consultant for the game's story.Prince of Persia: The Sands of Timewas released in 2003, and proved a critical and financial success, with over 14 million copies sold by 2014, as well as several sequels.[13]

A small team in Ubisoft Montreal worked on developing aPrince of Persiafor the next-generation consoles starting in 2004. They wanted to break away from having the player-character as a prince, and soon came to the concept of having the player control one of theAssassinsin protecting the prince during the period of theThird Crusade.The newer hardware allowed them to expand the linear gameplay fromPrince of Persia: The Sands of Timeinto anopen world.Ubisoft was not keen on releasing a title in thePrince of Persiaseries where the Prince was not the prime character, and the title was reworked to be a new IP, calledAssassin's Creedthat ended up being released in 2007, selling over 10 million units by 2014.[13]This was the third major IP being developed at Ubisoft Montreal, and has also had numerous sequels since its release.[13]

Yet another major IP came to Ubisoft Montreal was theFar Cryseries. Ubisoft had initially contracted withCrytekto expand their demonstration of theirCryEngineinto a full game namedFar Cry,which Ubisoft published in 2004. After its release, Crytek was approached byElectronic Artsto develop exclusively for them. Ubisoft established a deal with Crytek for the rights toFar Cryand a persistent licence to the CryEngine. Ubisoft assigned Ubisoft Montreal to develop console releases ofFar Cry,which allowed them to continue to work with the licence and improve upon the CryEngine, making a new proprietary engine called the Dunia engine.[13]The Montreal team created several sequels toFar Cry,starting withFar Cry 2released in 2008.[13]

During this period, in 2005, the government of Quebec gave UbisoftCA$5 millionto expand with anticipation of reaching 2,000 employees by 2010.[16]In 2007, with already 1,600 employees, the government increased toCA$19 millionto reach 3,000 employees by 2013, which would make Ubisoft Montreal the world's largest game development studio.[17]

During his time as COO, Martin Tremblay was a staunch supporter ofnon-compete clauses,in large part due to an incident in whichElectronic Artshired away several Ubisoft Montreal employees to the at the time newly openedEA Montrealstudio.[18]When Tremblay left Ubisoft in 2006 to become President of Worldwide Studios atVivendi Games,he was prevented from taking the new position by a court order enforcing the non-compete clause in his Ubisoft contract.[19]Upon Tremblay's departure in 2006, Yannis Mallat, a producer on thePrince of Persiagames, became the new CEO, also filling the same roles as Tremblay's COO position.[20]

Ongoing development (2009–current)

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Ubisoft Montreal continue to develop games in theTom Clancy's,Prince of Persia,Assassin's Creed,andFar Cryseries, with various Ubisoft studios assisting at times. These series established Ubisoft Montreal's approach aroundopen worldgames, a goal that Ubisoft wanted as the publisher prepared for theeighth generation of consoles,as well as dedication to the authenticity and historical accuracy of their products.[13][11]To continue to expand its portfolio, Ubisoft Montreal subsequently developed theWatch Dogsseries, with the first game released in 2014.Watch Dogswas developed as a modern, urban open world game, but to differentiate itself fromGrand Theft Auto,incorporated elements ofhackingandsurveillance.[21]

In 2013 Ubisoft acquiredTHQMontreal and merged it into Ubisoft Montreal.[22][23][11]

Ubisoft Montreal developed another new IP,For Honor,which was first released in 2017. Atypical of Ubisoft Montreal's properties,For Honoris a multiplayer action combat game that uses various warriors from across various time periods. It had been an idea that its lead developer Jason Vandenberghe had had for at least ten years prior to its announcement.[24]For Honorrepresents the studio's first attempt at an "ongoing game", producing ongoing content released on a seasonal basis.

In June and July 2020, as part of a larger wave of accusations of sexual misconduct through the video game industry as part of the#MeToo movement,several high-profile people within Ubisoft as a whole were also accused of misconduct. As part of a number of voluntary regulations following internal investigations, Ubisoft Montreal's CEO and managing director for Ubisoft's Canadian studios Yannis Mallat also stepped down and left the company on July 11, 2020.[25]Christophe Derennes was named to replace Mallat.[26]

Ubisoft Montreal ventured into mobile game development, announcingTom Clancy's Rainbow Six Mobileon April 5, 2022, forAndroidandiOS.[27]The title is the mobile-adapted version of the studio's 2015tactical shooterTom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege.[28]As of 2023, the studio employs more than 4,000 people.[29]

Technology

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Main article:Ubisoft Anvil

Games developed

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Main article:List of Ubisoft Montreal video games

Ubisoft Montreal is the principal developer for games in theAssassin's Creed,Prince of Persia,Far Cry,Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell,Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six,andWatch Dogsseries, among other titles. However, this does not mean that they develop all the titles in these franchises, and more often than not, otherUbisoftstudios support them with development.[30]

Impact

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The establishment of Ubisoft Montreal is considered to have a significant impact on Montreal. The Mile End area over the subsequent years transformed from a low-rent area to a commercial hub with new businesses, stores, restaurants and other attractions for the young workforce.[31][10]For the city overall, Ubisoft Montreal was the first major video game studio and helped to establish its position as a creative city. Several other publishers, includingElectronic Arts,Eidos Interactive,THQ,andWarner Bros.,established studios in Montreal following Ubisoft, with the Quebec and federal governments continuing to offer subsidy programs to support high-tech job creation.[7][32]In exchange, the studio has spent up toCA$3.5 billionin the province of Quebec, and with their parent publisher, helped to openUbisoft QuebecinQuebec Cityin 2005 and Ubisoft Saguenay inSaguenayin 2018 to help support Ubisoft Montreal's efforts, using similar tax incentives from the province to help found these.[33]

Notes

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  1. ^The former "Ubi Soft" name was changed across all of its divisions to "Ubisoft" on 9 September 2003 as part of a rebranding strategy.[1]

References

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  1. ^Fahey, Rob (9 September 2003)."Ubisoft unveils new" visual identity "".gamesindustry.biz.Archivedfrom the original on 8 July 2018.Retrieved18 July2018.
  2. ^"Ubisoft Montreal lays off 98 people as part of a corporate restructuring effort".Engadget.7 November 2023.Retrieved7 November2023.
  3. ^Dupuis, Stéphanie (8 October 2022)."25 ans de succès vidéoludiques pour Ubisoft Montréal".Radio-Canada(in French).Retrieved8 October2022.
  4. ^"Ubi Uncensored: The History of Ubisoft by the People Who Wrote It".Game Informer.Archived fromthe originalon 5 October 2018.Retrieved4 October2018.
  5. ^"The French-Canadian Connection: A Q&A With Yannis Mallat, Ubisoft Montreal".Gamasutra. 14 December 2006.Archivedfrom the original on 3 December 2013.Retrieved28 November2013.It's very convenient for us to be able to talk the same language with creators in France, and at the same time the people in Québec are close to the North American market
  6. ^"Video game subsidy battle heats up".CBC News.14 September 2010.Archivedfrom the original on 1 October 2011.Retrieved6 May2011.
  7. ^abTremblay, Diane-Gabrielle; Rousseau, Serge (Summer 2005).The Montreal Multimedia Sector: A Cluster, a New Mode of Governance or a Simple Co-location?(PDF).Canadian Journal of Regional Science(Report). Vol. 28. pp.299–328.Archived(PDF)from the original on 3 March 2016.Retrieved4 October2018.
  8. ^"UBI SOFT ENTERTAINMENT OPENS IN MONTREAL".27 April 1997.Archivedfrom the original on 19 June 1997.Retrieved4 October2018.
  9. ^"Ubisoft Announces the Creation of 1000 Jobs in Montreal".GamesIndustry.biz.1 February 2005.Archivedfrom the original on 6 October 2018.Retrieved5 October2018.
  10. ^abChristopher DeWolf (20 November 2007),"The Gazette's three-part series on Mile End",Spacing,archivedfrom the original on 20 December 2016,retrieved10 December2016
  11. ^abcKelly, Caitlin (28 April 2013)."Where the Artists Are the Superheroes".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 6 October 2018.Retrieved5 October2018.
  12. ^"Tremblay bids Ubisoft adieu – GameCube News at GameSpot".Archivedfrom the original on 4 September 2006.Retrieved31 October2007.
  13. ^abcdefghijklDyer, Mitch (3 February 2014)."House Of Dreams: The Ubisoft Montreal Story".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on 4 October 2018.Retrieved4 October2018.
  14. ^"The Final Hours of Prince of Persia – Features at GameSpot".Archivedfrom the original on 16 May 2008.Retrieved19 October2007.
  15. ^"IGN: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Review".Archived fromthe originalon 16 October 2007.Retrieved19 October2007.
  16. ^"Canada gives Ubisoft $4 million – PlayStation 2 News at GameSpot".Archivedfrom the original on 25 May 2011.Retrieved19 October2007.
  17. ^French, Michael (9 February 2007)."Ubisoft Montreal to become world's biggest studio".Develop.Archived fromthe originalon 3 March 2007.
  18. ^"Gamasutra – Electronic Arts, Ubisoft Clash On Montreal Hiring".Archivedfrom the original on 27 February 2008.Retrieved31 October2007.
  19. ^"Gamasutra – Ubisoft Wins Court Non-Compete Order Against Tremblay".Archivedfrom the original on 11 May 2012.Retrieved31 October2007.
  20. ^"Ubisoft Montreal promotes Mallat – News at GameSpot".Archivedfrom the original on 25 May 2011.Retrieved31 October2007.
  21. ^Nutt, Christian (23 April 2014)."Hack-Man: An interview with Watch Dogs' creative director".Gamasutra.Archivedfrom the original on 8 June 2014.Retrieved4 October2018.
  22. ^Yannis Mallat about the acquired THC Montreal and the future plans
  23. ^"Ubisoft Montreal's website mentions the acquisition of THQ Montreal".Archivedfrom the original on 10 June 2016.Retrieved25 July2016.
  24. ^"Forging Honor: Providing a Coherent Vision for a New IP".Archivedfrom the original on 5 October 2018.Retrieved4 October2018.
  25. ^Walker, Ian (11 July 2020)."Top Ubisoft Executives Out Amid Allegations Of Company-Wide Misconduct".Kotaku.Retrieved11 July2020.
  26. ^Saed, Sherif (14 July 2020)."Christophe Derennes is the new Ubisoft Montreal director".VG247.Retrieved14 July2020.
  27. ^"R6M Announcement - A few words from the Devs".ubisoft.Retrieved31 July2022.
  28. ^"Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege | Ubisoft (US)".ubisoft.Retrieved31 July2022.
  29. ^"Ubisoft cuts 98 workers across Canadian offices".Polygon.7 November 2023.Retrieved7 November2023.
  30. ^"Our Games".Ubisoft Montréal.Retrieved30 July2022.
  31. ^"Respawned: How video games revitalize cities".CBC News.14 September 2010.Archivedfrom the original on 25 October 2011.Retrieved6 May2011.
  32. ^Sapieha, Chad (30 January 2019)."The secret sauce that's made Montreal a global hot spot for making video games".Financial Post.Archivedfrom the original on 30 January 2019.Retrieved30 January2019.
  33. ^Serebrn, Jacob (5 September 2017)."Finance minister defends subsidies as Ubisoft expands to Saguenay".Montreal Gazette.Archivedfrom the original on 5 October 2018.Retrieved4 October2018.
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