Ubisoft Toronto
Ubisoft Toronto Inc. is a Canadian video game developer and a studio of Ubisoft based in Toronto. The studio was established under Jade Raymond in September 2010. Games developed by Ubisoft Toronto include Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Far Cry 5, Starlink: Battle for Atlas, and Watch Dogs Legion.
Subsidiary | |
Industry | Video games |
Founded | September 2010 |
Founder | Jade Raymond |
Headquarters | , Canada |
Key people | Alexandre Parizeau (managing director) |
Number of employees | 600 (2017) |
Parent | Ubisoft |
Website | toronto |
History
Ubisoft announced in July 2009 that it was establishing a Toronto-based development studio. Yannis Mallat, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Ubisoft Montreal, was to become Ubisoft Toronto's CEO, while the government of Ontario was to invest CA$263 million over a course of 10 years to create up to 800 jobs.[1][2] By September 2009, Jade Raymond was put in charge of establishing the studio.[2] Ubisoft Toronto's offices were established from an old factory building in the Bloor/Lansdowne region of Toronto.[3] Most of the studio's staff in its development phase, including Raymond, transferred to the new location from Ubisoft Montreal.[3] Key hires included producer Alexandre Parizeau and creative director Maxime BĂ©land, who were brought on for the production of a new game in the Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series.[4][5] A second, smaller development team for an undisclosed project was headed up by Lesley Phord-Toy, and Rima Brek was put in charge of the studio's internal Technology Group.[4][6] By May 2010, Ubisoft Toronto had received more than 2,000 job applications.[5] Ubisoft Toronto began operating in late 2009 and formally opened in September 2010.[7][8]
Unlike other Ubisoft studios, Ubisoft Toronto was immediately allowed to lead development of its games, whereas others start by only supporting larger studios like Ubisoft Montreal.[3][9] By March 2012, Ubisoft Toronto had grown to 200 people, and to 300 by September 2013.[7][8] By the latter, the studio had received 30,000 applications and given 1,800 job interviews.[8] In September 2012, Ubisoft Toronto received an internal performance capture studio.[10] The studio's debut project, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist, was released in August 2013 to critical success.[9][8] Raymond left the studio and was succeeded as general manager by Parizeau.[11] By July 2015, Ubisoft Toronto was developing an original intellectual property (IP).[12] This game was later revealed to be Starlink: Battle for Atlas, an action-adventure game with optional toys-to-life integration.[13] The game was released in 2018 as the studio's first own IP.[14] As of July 2017, Ubisoft Toronto has 600 staff members.[15]
Games developed
Year | Title | Platform(s) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Wii U, Xbox 360 | N/A |
2014 | Assassin's Creed Unity | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One | Additional work |
Far Cry 4 | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One | ||
2015 | Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One | |
2016 | Far Cry Primal | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One | |
Watch Dogs 2 | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One | ||
2017 | For Honor | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One | |
2018 | Far Cry 5 | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One | N/A |
Starlink: Battle for Atlas | Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One | ||
TBA | Watch Dogs: Legion | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Stadia, Xbox One |
References
- Fahey, Mike (6 July 2009). "Ubisoft Toronto Brings 800 Jobs To Ontario". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
- Thorsen, Tor (1 September 2009). "Jade Raymond heading up Ubisoft Toronto". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2 July 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- Kumar, Mathew (25 May 2010). "Building On Conviction: Inside Ubisoft Toronto, Page 1 of 4". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- Kumar, Mathew (25 May 2010). "Building On Conviction: Inside Ubisoft Toronto, Page 2 of 4". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- Kumar, Mathew (25 May 2010). "Building On Conviction: Inside Ubisoft Toronto, Page 3 of 4". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- Kumar, Mathew (25 May 2010). "Building On Conviction: Inside Ubisoft Toronto, Page 4 of 4". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- Weber, Rachel (8 March 2017). "Jade's Empire: Building Ubisoft's Super-Studio". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- Sinclair, Brendan (6 September 2013). "How to build a AAA studio". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- Dyer, Mitch (4 September 2013). "The Rise of Ubisoft Toronto: How a New Team Nailed its AAA Debut". IGN. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- Goldfarb, Andrew (14 September 2012). "Ubisoft Opens New Performance Capture Studio". IGN. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- Crecente, Brian (20 October 2014). "Ubisoft Toronto managing director Jade Raymond leaves company". Polygon. Archived from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- Moser, Cassidee (14 July 2015). "Ubisoft Toronto is Working on a New AAA IP". IGN. Archived from the original on 16 June 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- Takahashi, Dean (12 June 2017). "Ubisoft unveils Starlink video game with toys that attach to your controller". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
- Dring, Christopher (12 June 2017). "Ubisoft Toronto: "We can bring life back to toys-to-life"". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
- Sapieha, Chad (6 July 2017). "Ubisoft Toronto's big bet: A new spin on toy-based video games with Starlink". Financial Post. Archived from the original on 16 June 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.