Ubisoft has published its first-ever ‘Canadian Impact Report’ to commemorate 25 years of operating in Canada. As the name suggests, the report unpacks key statistics regarding Ubisoft’s presence in Canada.
In April 1997, Ubisoft opened its Montreal office, which has gone on to become the company’s largest in-house development studio with over 4,000 employees. In the following years, Ubisoft opened additional studios in Quebec City (2005), Toronto (2010), Halifax (2015), Saguenay, Quebec and Winnipeg (2018) and Sherbrooke, Quebec (2022). It also acquired Piedmont, Quebec-based tech company Hybride in 2008.
Overall, Ubisoft says it has 5,440 employees in Canada (as of March 1st, 2023), representing just over one-quarter (27 percent) of its entire global workforce. Some of the company’s biggest franchises have been made in Canada, including Assassin’s Creed, Splinter Cell, Far Cry, Prince of Persia and Rainbow Six.
The company has also supported independent games through its ‘Indie Series’ competitions, providing funding and mentorship to teams like Toronto’s Rocket Adrift (Psychroma) and Hamilton, Ontario’s Achimostawinan (Hill Agency). All of this has been a major contributor to Canada’s $5.5 billion gaming industry, the third largest of its kind in the world.
Breaking that down further, Ubisoft says 23.5 percent of Canadian employees, including those in manager roles, are women. The company adds that it has over 1,100 Canadian employees across resource groups (ERGs) for women, Asian and Pacific Islanders, Black, 2SLGBTQIA+, Middle Eastern and North Africa, Latinx, mental health and accessibility.
“Note: It’s important to point out that Ubisoft has also had its own issues in this regard. In 2020, a slew of sexual misconduct allegations were made at various Ubisoft studios, including its Montreal and Toronto offices. It was alleged that male employees made inappropriate comments, gestures, touching and, in some cases, even committed assault. Company CEO Yves Guillemot apologized and made some changes, including terminating a number of accused employees, hosting awareness workshops, and appointing a VP of diversity and inclusion. However, employee advocacy group A Better Ubisoft said last year that progress has been “painfully slow” and a number of the alleged abusers remain at the company.”
Elsewhere, Ubisoft touted its commitment to education initiatives, including partnerships with 16 Canadian universities to leverage games as teaching tools, 7.7 million players in its Assassin’s Creed ‘Discovery Tour’ in-game historical lessons and 71 education-related activities (such as the Indigenous digital learning program Hack the ROM). It adds that it has invested $12 million in its Ubisoft Education program between 2015 and 2022 in Quebec alone, as well as $115,000 in total annual scholarships.
Ubisoft has also spearheaded a number of accessibility efforts, including celebrated assistive tools in the likes of Ubisoft Toronto’s Watch Dogs: Legion and Far Cry 6, Ubisoft Montreal’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Ubisoft Quebec’s Immortals: Fenyx Rising.
Ubisoft’s full Canadian Impact Report can be found here.
Looking ahead, Ubisoft’s Canadian studios have several games in the works, including Assassin’s Creed Hexe and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake (Ubisoft Montreal) and the Splinter Cell remake and narrative component of Star Wars Outlaws (Ubisoft Toronto).
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