Ubisoft Singapore marks 15 years of operations with 5,000 sq m studio, regional network

UBISOFT Singapore announced on Thursday (Nov 16) that it has formed a new regional network of five studios in South-east Asia and India, which the video game developer said is part of its strategy to deepen ties in this part of the world.

The studios are located in Singapore, Manila in the Philippines, Da Nang in Vietnam, and Pune and Mumbai in India.

Ubisoft – a France-headquartered publisher of popular titles such as Assassin’s Creed, Just Dance, Rayman, Far Cry and Watch Dogs – marked its 15th anniversary in Singapore with the opening of a new 5,000 square metre (sq m) studio within the Fusionopolis hub of one-north’s business park.

Jean-Francois Vallee – who will succeed Darryl Long as the managing director of Ubisoft Singapore, Philippines and Da Nang on Jan 1 next year – will helm the regional network from the Singapore studio.

“South-east Asia and India are promising regions for the gaming industry,” said Vallee, who joined the company in 1997 and has spent the last 18 years in China. He helped establish Ubisoft Chengdu in 2008 and has been the managing director in Shanghai since 2021.

“The global video game industry is not a niche one anymore, for the market size is over US$200 billion – even more than the film industry,” said Long. “The video game industry employs hundreds of thousands of people around the world.”

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At the launch event on Thursday, Long said that the new three-storey Singapore studio cements Ubisoft’s commitment to continue contributing to the gaming and entertainment ecosystem in Singapore and the region.

Fifteen years ago, Ubisoft Singapore ran a small studio with just 22 people. The company had an initial target to grow this to 300 people, but today it has over 450 people from 35 countries on its payroll. Seven in 10 employees are Singaporeans.

“Being one of the few global gaming companies with a studio in Singapore, we have the privilege of working with some of the country’s most talented video game developers, and many are making their mark globally,” said Long. “We value this opportunity to nurture the next generation of game development talent, and this is a strong testament to our long-term partnerships with the local tertiary institutions.”

Ubisoft Singapore has career immersion programmes with DigiPen, Republic Polytechnic, Nanyang Polytechnic and the universities. Apart from offering internships to students, Ubisoft Singapore works with the institutions in their curriculum planning for game design, programming and other related modules.

The company also offers industry immersion programmes for lecturers to learn about the latest industry practices, and incorporate them in their gaming-related course content.

Ubisoft Singapore has developed many signature titles over the years. The new Assassin’s Creed: Mirage game was made available last month, with Skull and Bones set to be launched in the next few months. The latter is the first AAA game led by the Singapore studio.

In the video game industry, AAA (pronounced “triple A”) is a classification term used for games with the highest development budgets and levels of promotion.