Ubisoft Quebec

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Ubisoft Quebec
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
Founded27 June 2005; 16 years ago (2005-06-27)
Founders
  • Nicolas Rioux
  • Andrée Cossette
Headquarters
Quebec City
,
Canada
Number of locations
2 offices (2019)
Number of employees
520[1] (2020)
ParentUbisoft
Websitequebec.ubisoft.com

Ubisoft Quebec is a Canadian video game developer and a studio of Ubisoft based in Quebec City. The studio was established in June 2005 and is best known for its work in the Assassin's Creed franchise.

History[]

French video game publisher Ubisoft announced its plans to open a development studio in Quebec City in April 2005.[2][3] The studio, Ubisoft Quebec, was formally opened on 27 June 2005.[4] Its founders were Nicolas Rioux and Andrée Cossette, of whom Rioux was appointed as general manager.[5][6] In June 2008, Ubisoft Quebec announced that it had established a computer-generated imagery production arm that would work in conjunction with distributor .[7] The unit was closed down again with the foundation of Ubisoft Motion Pictures in May 2011.[8]

Longtail Studios's Quebec City development studio was acquired by Ubisoft in March 2010 and merged into Ubisoft Quebec. Forty-eight employees were transferred to Ubisoft Quebec, while another 6–7, including the acquired studio's manager, departed.[9] In June 2013, François Pelland was appointed as Ubisoft Quebec's executive director of development.[10][11] In September 2013, Ubisoft announced its intent to invest CA$373 million in Ubisoft Quebec over seven years to create up to 500 jobs.[12][13] A first investment of CA$28 million in January 2014 opened 100 positions.[14][15] Following onto another CA$4 million investment in July 2014, Ubisoft Quebec stated that it would move to new offices in the Saint-Roch neighbourhood of Quebec City and open another 100 positions.[16]

When Rioux became "vice president of technology" for all of Ubisoft's Canadian studios in November 2017, Patrick Klaus was appointed Ubisoft Quebec's managing director, with Cossette as associate managing director.[17] In December 2018, Mike Laidlaw joined the studio as creative director, having previously stepped down from the same position at BioWare,[18] before departing again in February 2020.[19] The Saint-Roch location, known as UbiNord, was opened in April 2019.[20] Cossette succeeded Klaus as managing director in November 2019, after Klaus had left the studio earlier that year.[5][21] Cossette left Ubisoft Quebec in July 2020.[22]

Games developed[]

After developing expansion packs for Assassin's Creed III and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Ubisoft Quebec became the first Ubisoft studio outside Ubisoft Montreal to lead the development of a mainline Assassin's Creed game.[23][24] The studio's first Assassin's Creed game was Assassin's Creed Syndicate, which was released in October 2015, and continued with Assassin's Creed Odyssey, released in October 2018.[6][25]

Year Title Platform(s)
2006 Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Critical Hour Xbox
Open Season Game Boy Advance, GameCube, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Xbox, Xbox 360
2007 Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas PlayStation Portable
Cranium Kabookii Wii
Surf's Up Game Boy Advance, GameCube, macOS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Xbox 360
2008 Battle of Giants: Dinosaurs Nintendo DS
My Stop Smoking Coach with Allen Carr
2009 Battle of Giants: Dragons
2010 Battle of Giants: Mutant Insects
Battle of Giants: Dinosaurs Strike Wii
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
2011 Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D Nintendo 3DS
PowerUp Heroes Xbox 360
The Black Eyed Peas Experience Wii
2012 Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth Wii U, Xbox 360
Might & Magic: Duel of Champions iOS, Microsoft Windows
2015 Assassin's Creed Syndicate Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
2018 Assassin's Creed Odyssey Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Stadia
2020 Immortals Fenyx Rising Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Stadia, Amazon Luna

References[]

  1. ^ "Our Studio". Ubisoft Quebec.
  2. ^ Maragos, Nich (11 April 2005). "Gameloft, Ubisoft Open Quebec City Studios". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 14 June 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  3. ^ Gibson, Ellie (12 April 2005). "Ubisoft announces plans for new Quebec studio". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 10 June 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  4. ^ Graft, Kris (25 October 2018). "Crunch, work-life balance, and Assassin's Creed Odyssey: A view from the top". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 14 July 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "Q&A With Andrée Cossette, Managing Director at Ubisoft Québec". Ubisoft Quebec. 27 November 2019.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Takahashi, Dean (25 November 2015). "How Ubisoft's Quebec City studio became the master of Assassin's Creed: Syndicate". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on 24 December 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  7. ^ Martin, Matt (2 June 2008). "Guillemot to transform Ubisoft with movie, TV and sports projects". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  8. ^ Jenkins, David (3 May 2011). "Ubisoft confirms founding of Ubisoft Motion Pictures". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  9. ^ Ransom-Wiley, James (3 November 2010). "Ubisoft Quebec adds a Longtail studio". Engadget. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  10. ^ Williams, Mike (4 June 2013). "Ubisoft Quebec appoints new executive director of development". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  11. ^ Hinkle, David (6 May 2013). "Ubisoft Quebec City taps François Pelland as executive director". Engadget. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  12. ^ Williams, Mike (30 September 2013). "Ubisoft Quebec operations will employ 3,500 by 2020". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  13. ^ Whitehead, Thomas (1 October 2013). "Ubisoft Quebec Planning Major Expansion of Workforce". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  14. ^ Handrahan, Matthew (24 January 2014). "Ubisoft to create 100 new jobs in Quebec City studio". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  15. ^ Rose, Mike (24 January 2014). "Ubisoft expanding its development operations in Quebec". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  16. ^ Brightman, James (2 July 2014). "Ubisoft expands Quebec studio to head production on new Assassin's Creed". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  17. ^ Therrien, Yves (28 November 2017). "Nouvelle direction chez Ubisoft" [New management at Ubisoft]. Le Soleil (in French).
  18. ^ Good, Owen S. (5 December 2018). "BioWare veteran Mike Laidlaw joins Ubisoft". Polygon. Archived from the original on 6 December 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  19. ^ Good, Owen S. (1 February 2020). "Dragon Age creator Mike Laidlaw departs Ubisoft after just a year". Polygon.
  20. ^ "UbiNord Opening: A Monday Like No Other". Ubisoft Quebec. 24 April 2019.
  21. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (12 December 2019). "Motive GM establishes means and opportunity". GamesIndustry.biz.
  22. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (24 July 2020). "Ubisoft Quebec managing director steps down". GamesIndustry.biz.
  23. ^ Totilo, Stephen (3 April 2018). "How Ubisoft Makes So Many Assassin's Creed Games". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  24. ^ Champane, Jimmy (2 July 2014). "New Assassin's Creed Game to be Developed by Ubisoft Quebec". IGN. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  25. ^ Batchelor, James (26 September 2018). "How Odyssey is changing the face of Assassin's Creed". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 10 February 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.

External links[]

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