Video Game Buttons Blog

February 13, 2007

Video game publisher Ubisoft announced last week a new phase of development for its operations in Quebec. The company plans to invest up to an additional 295.6 million euros over the next six years with the goal of creating 1,000 new jobs.

 
The motivation behind the creation of the new jobs is two-fold: 1) the group has set a goal of creating 500 new video game positions in Quebec by 2013, and 2) Ubisoft will inaugurate a new production center that specializes in computer generated images (CGI) creation.

 

The studio’s mission will be to produce short films inspired by Ubisoft video games. An initial eight-minute short film will be based on the award-winning and highly anticipated game, Assassin’s Creed, and by 2013, the new CGI studio should count 500 specialists.

 

“In 1997 Ubisoft made the decision to wager on Quebec’s immense creative potential,” recalls CEO Yves Guillemot. “Ten years later, the Montreal studio has been the driving force behind the conception and development of legendary brands, such as Prince of Persia, and the greatly anticipated Assassin’s Creed. The Montreal studio was recently ranked 4th development studio in the world by Game Informer, one of the most influential magazines in the game industry. Today, we are pursuing our strategy centered on innovation by increasing investments in our creative teams based in Quebec.”

 

“With this announcement, we are one step closer to reaching our goal of making Ubsisoft’s Montreal studio the most important center for video game development in the world, and especially to reinforce Quebec’s position as a reference in the creation of digital entertainment,” said Montreal studio CEO Yannis Mallat.

 

“Video game production has progressively moved closer and closer to film and television production and this convergence will only intensify in the coming years. This natural evolution is accompanied by revolutionary changes in online distribution channels via the explosion of free and paid-for digital content. Today’s launch of a studio specializing in digital film creation will allow Ubisoft to be a pioneer in the domain for the years to come,” Yves Guillemot added.

 

November 7, 2006

Buena Vista Games representatives have announced the formation of a new video game development studio based in Salt Lake City, Fall Line Studio, which would create video games exclusively for Nintendo platforms.  Fall Line Studio’s stated focus is to develop games based on Disney’s characters, television shows, and entertainment franchises, as well as creating new intellectual properties for the Nintendo DS and Wii formats.

 

The studio will operate as a sister studio to Buena Vista Games’ Salt Lake City-based Avalanche Software studio and will focus on small-team, creative projects and.  The formation of Fall Line Studio is the latest in a long line of expansions by Buena Vista Games, which has acquired British developer Climax Racing, purchased the Turok comic book license, and partnered with Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s Q Entertainment and Jupiter Corporation.

 

The set-up of Fall Line Studio represents one of the most significant investments in Nintendo formats by either Buena Vista or Disney.  How the formation of the new studio will affect the licensing of Disney properties to other companies is still unclear, with the company presumably intending to continue to develop multi-format titles externally.

 

“This studio will be one of our centers of creative excellence and it gives us the ability to fully capitalize on our properties and expand our market share on Nintendo platforms,” said Graham Hopper, senior vice president and general manager of Buena Vista Games.  “Scott Novis brings the perfect mix of team building and relevant business experience to the position of studio head for Fall Line Studio.”