Ubisoft Expands Montreal Operations With Government Help

Ubisoft, which recently hinted at a major announcement, has now come out with news of a major increase in the size and scope of their Montreal studios, previously responsible for the best-selling Prince of Persia and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series. The company seeks to create 1,000 new jobs in Montreal, which will double the size of the Montreal studio. "We've grown by 50 per cent in the last 14 months alone, we already have over 1,000 members in our team, and I expect we'll double that number by 2010," said Martin Tremblay, CEO of Ubisoft Montreal. Ubisoft seeks to "solidify Montreal's position as a world-leading interactive entertainment centre," and will be assisted in this by the governments of Quebec and Canada, who are contributing grants and reimbursable tax credits to the expansion project. In particular, Emploi-Québec are contributing $6.3 million (USD $5.3 million) in financial assistance for the first three years of the expansion program, as part of Ubisoft's accelerated job creation plan, the Ministère de l'Education will invest $5.3 million (USD $4.28 million) over five years to create a specialized training centre for interactive entertainment, and an additional $6 million (USD $4.85 million) from Investissement Québec over three years as part of Ubisoft's expansion program. "The interactive games industry is growing rapidly and we expect it to double within seven years," said Yves Guillemot, Ubisoft's CEO and co-founder. "Ubisoft is home to the second-largest creative team in the industry and it has a world-leading studio in Montreal. These are two critical elements for the future, especially considering that the next generation of game consoles will offer unparalleled potential in terms of content and technology."