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Ubisoft Toronto

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Ubisoft Toronto Inc.
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
FoundedSeptember 2010; 13 years ago (2010-09)
Founder
Headquarters
Toronto
,
Canada
Key people
Darryl Long (managing director)
Number of employees
600 (2017)
ParentUbisoft
Websitetoronto.ubisoft.com

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, Far Cry 6, and Watch Dogs Legion.

History[edit]

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] 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, though Ubisoft Toronto also served to support Montreal as part of its initial role as a sister studio.[3][4][5]

By September 2009, Jade Raymond was put in charge of establishing the studio.[2] 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 Béland, who were brought on for the production of a new game in the Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series, and were considered co-founders of the studio alongside Raymond.[6][7] 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.[6][8] By May 2010, Ubisoft Toronto had received more than 2,000 job applications.[7]

Ubisoft Toronto's offices were established from a former General Electric building in the Junction Triangle neighborhood of Toronto.[5][3] Ubisoft Toronto began operating in late 2009 and formally opened in September 2010.[9][10]

By March 2012, Ubisoft Toronto had grown to 200 people, and to 300 by September 2013.[9][10] By the latter, the studio had received 30,000 applications and given 1,800 job interviews.[10] In September 2012, Ubisoft Toronto received an internal performance capture studio.[11] The studio's debut project, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist, was released in August 2013 to critical success.[4][10] Raymond left the studio and was succeeded as general manager by Parizeau.[12] By July 2015, Ubisoft Toronto was developing an original intellectual property (IP).[13] This game was later revealed to be Starlink: Battle for Atlas, an action-adventure game with optional toys-to-life integration.[14] The game was released in 2018 as the studio's first own IP.[15] As of July 2017, Ubisoft Toronto has 600 staff members.[16]

Near the end of June 2020 and into July 2020, a wave of accusations related to the MeToo movement swept through the video game industry, including several directed at some Ubisoft employees. Over one hundred employees of Ubisoft Toronto wrote to Parizeau in late June to report concerns related to sexual misconduct and the lack of action taken by management and human resources in response to their prior reports. Ubisoft announced it had investigated these reports, and in the case of Ubisoft Toronto, had requested studio co-founder Maxime Béland resign from the company. Speaking to Kotaku, some of these employees stated that there were still additional problems at the studio that went beyond Béland and they were still seeking signs of larger change from the studio and Ubisoft as a whole.[5] Parizeau left the company in February 2021 and was replaced by Istvan Tajnay, who had previously been the managing director for Ubisoft Berlin.[17]

In December 2021, it was announced that the studio was developing a remake of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (2002); reports on the project appeared earlier in October.[18] After 2 years, Tajnay left the company in July of 2023 and was replaced by Darryl Long, who had previously been the managing director for Ubisoft Winnipeg and Ubisoft Singapore.[19]

In June 2024, it was announced that Ubisoft Toronto would assist Ubisoft Montreal in the development of the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake.[20] Later that month, 33 employees were let go as part of a "targeted realignment to ensure it can deliver on its ambitious roadmap."[21]

Games developed[edit]

Year Title Platform(s) Notes Ref.
2013 Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist PlayStation 3, Wii U, Windows, Xbox 360 — [4]
2014 Assassin's Creed Unity PlayStation 4, Stadia, Windows, Xbox One Supportive development for Ubisoft Montreal [22]
Far Cry 4 PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One [23]
2016 Far Cry Primal PlayStation 4, Stadia, Windows, Xbox One [24]
Watch Dogs 2 [25]
2017 For Honor PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One [26]
2018 Far Cry 5 PlayStation 4, Stadia, Windows, Xbox One Developed in collaboration with Ubisoft Montreal [27]
Starlink: Battle for Atlas Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One — [14]
2020 Watch Dogs: Legion PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S Also developed the expansion pack Bloodline (2021) [28][29]
2021 Far Cry 6 Also developed the expansion pack Lost Between Worlds (2022) [30][31]
2022 Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope Nintendo Switch Supportive development for Ubisoft Milan and Ubisoft Paris [32]
2023 The Crew Motorfest PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S Supportive development for Ubisoft Ivory Tower [33]
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S Supportive development for Massive Entertainment [25]
2024 XDefiant Supportive development for Ubisoft San Francisco [34]
Star Wars Outlaws Supportive development for Massive Entertainment [35]
2026 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time — Supportive development for Ubisoft Montreal's remake of the 2003 video game of the same name [20]
— Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell — A remake of the 2002 video game of the same name [18]

References[edit]

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ a b Thorsen, Tor (1 September 2009). "Jade Raymond heading up Ubisoft Toronto". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2 July 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  3. ^ a b c 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.
  4. ^ a b c 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.
  5. ^ a b c Gach, Ethan (6 July 2020). "Ubisoft Employees Have 'Grave Concerns' Over Toronto Studio's Misconduct Allegations". Kotaku. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  6. ^ a b 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.
  7. ^ a b 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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ a b 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.
  10. ^ a b c d 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.
  11. ^ Goldfarb, Andrew (14 September 2012). "Ubisoft Opens New Performance Capture Studio". IGN. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ Batchelor, James (3 February 2021). "Ubisoft Toronto appoints new managing director". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  17. ^ a b Good, Owen S. (15 December 2021). "A Splinter Cell remake is in development at Ubisoft Toronto". Polygon. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  18. ^ https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/ubisoft-appoints-veteran-managing-directors-for-toronto-and-montpellier-studios
  19. ^ a b Moon, Mariella (4 June 2024). "Ubisoft Toronto is helping out with the troubled Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake". Engadget. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  20. ^ Chalk, Andy (28 June 2024). "Less than a month after joining work on the Sands of Time remake, Ubisoft Toronto lays off 33 employees 'to ensure it can deliver on its ambitious roadmap'". PC Gamer. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  21. ^ Ore, Jonathan (10 November 2014). "Assassin's Creed Unity video game an intriguing view of French Revolution". CBC News. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  22. ^ "Ubisoft Takes Players to new heights with Far Cry 4". Ubisoft Toronto. 15 May 2014. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  23. ^ Mudhar, Raju (28 February 2016). "'Far Cry Primal' unleashes the beasts". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 4 July 2024. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  24. ^ a b "Our Games". Ubisoft Toronto. Archived from the original on 15 June 2024. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  25. ^ "Video: How vehicles replicate and collide in Watch Dogs 2 multiplayer". Game Developer. 27 September 2019. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  26. ^ Makuch, Eddie (26 May 2017). "Far Cry 5's First Trailer Reveals Release Date And American Doomsday Cult". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  27. ^ Carter, Justin (31 March 2023). "How Watch Dogs: Legion changed Ubisoft's narrative design". Game Developer. Archived from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  28. ^ Ruppert, Liana (16 July 2021). "Watch Dogs Legion: Bloodline Review — The Glorious Return Of Aiden Pearce And Wrench". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 16 July 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  29. ^ Fillari, Alessandro (12 July 2020). "Far Cry 6 Revealed, Here's Everything We Know About Ubisoft's Next Open-World Shooter". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 12 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  30. ^ "Celebrating the Launch of Far Cry 6: Lost Between Worlds". Ubisoft Toronto. 14 December 2022. Archived from the original on 23 December 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  31. ^ "Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope Credits" (PDF). Ubisoft. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 June 2024. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  32. ^ "The Crew Motorfest". Ubisoft. Archived from the original on 30 June 2024. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  33. ^ "Playing Together, Creating Together: How Ubisoft's Canadian Studios Rocked XDefiant". Ubisoft Toronto. 22 May 2024. Archived from the original on 25 May 2024. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  34. ^ Dealessandri, Marie (12 June 2023). "Ubisoft Forward: Star Wars due in 2024, Avatar on December 7". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 12 June 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2024.

External links[edit]

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