Ubisoft Toronto Inc. is a Canadian

video game developer A video game developer is a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large business with em ...

and a studio of

Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...

based in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. The studio was established under

Jade Raymond Jade Raymond (born 28 August 1975) is a Canadian video game producer, best known for helping create the ''Assassin's Creed'' and '' Watch Dogs'' franchises, as well as building Ubisoft Toronto and Motive Studio. In March 2021, Raymond announc ...

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 ''Far Cry 6'' is a 2021 first-person shooter game developed by Ubisoft Toronto and published by Ubisoft. It is the sixth main installment in the '' Far Cry'' series and the successor to 2018's '' Far Cry 5''. The game is set on the fictional C ...

'', and '' Watch Dogs Legion''.

History

announced in July 2009 that it was establishing a

-based development studio. Yannis Mallat, the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

(CEO) of

Ubisoft Montreal Ubisoft Divertissements Inc., doing business as Ubisoft Montreal, is a Canadian video game developer and a studio of Ubisoft based in Montreal. The studio was founded in April 1997 as part of Ubisoft's growth into worldwide markets, with subs ...

, was to become Ubisoft Toronto's CEO, while the

government of Ontario The Government of Ontario () is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. The term ''Government of Ontario'' refers specifically to the executive—political Minister ...

was to invest over a course of 10 years to create up to 800 jobs. 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. By September 2009,

was put in charge of establishing the studio. Most of the studio's staff in its development phase, including Raymond, transferred to the new location from Ubisoft Montreal. Key hires included producer Alexandre Parizeau and

creative director A creative director is a person who makes high-level creative decisions; oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos; and directs and translates the creative people who produce the end results. Creat ...

Maxime Béland, who were brought on for the production of a new game in the ''

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell ''Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell'' is a series of stealth action-adventure video games, the first of which was released in 2002, and their tie-in novels that were endorsed by Tom Clancy. The series follows Sam Fisher, a highly trained agent of a ...

'' series, and were considered co-founders of the studio alongside Raymond. 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. By May 2010, Ubisoft Toronto had received more than 2,000 job applications. Ubisoft Toronto's offices were established from a former

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

building in the Junction Triangle neighborhood of Toronto. Ubisoft Toronto began operating in late 2009 and formally opened in September 2010. By March 2012, Ubisoft Toronto had grown to 200 people, and to 300 by September 2013. By the latter, the studio had received 30,000 applications and given 1,800 job interviews. In September 2012, Ubisoft Toronto received an internal performance capture studio. The studio's debut project, '' Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist'', was released in August 2013 to critical success. Raymond left the studio and was succeeded as

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

by Parizeau. By July 2015, Ubisoft Toronto was developing an original

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

(IP). This game was later revealed to be '' Starlink: Battle for Atlas'', an

action-adventure game An action-adventure game is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Definition An action adventure game can be defined as a game with a mix of elements from an action ...

with optional

toys-to-life Toys-to-life is a video game feature using physical figurines or action figures to interact within the game. There are several technologies used to make physical figurines appear in game such as image recognition, quick response (QR) codes, Blue ...

integration. The game was released in 2018 as the studio's first own IP. As of July 2017, Ubisoft Toronto has 600 staff members. Near the end of June 2020 and into July 2020, a wave of accusations related to the

MeToo movement #MeToo is a social movement and Consciousness raising, awareness campaign against sexual abuse, sexual harassment and rape culture, in which women publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was init ...

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 ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. History ...

'', 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. Parizeau left the company in February 2021 and was replaced by Istvan Tajnay, who had previously been the managing director for Ubisoft Berlin. In December 2021, it was announced that the studio was developing a remake of ''

'' (2002); reports on the project appeared earlier in October. 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. In June 2024, it was announced that Ubisoft Toronto would assist

in the development of the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake. Later that month, 33 employees were let go as part of a "targeted realignment to ensure it can deliver on its ambitious roadmap."

NEXT Competition

Ubisoft Toronto NEXT (Formerly Ubisoft Toronto NXT Showcase) is an annual competition held by Ubisoft Toronto, aimed towards post secondary students and recent graduates. The competition covers various job families and tasks students to complete a relevant submission that uses essential skills for the role, with the winner of each category being given an internship. As of the 2025 competition, 95 students have won internships at the studio.

Games developed

References

External links

* {{Authority control Canadian companies established in 2010 2010 establishments in Ontario Canadian subsidiaries of foreign companies Companies based in Toronto Ubisoft divisions and subsidiaries Video game companies established in 2010 Video game companies of Canada Video game development companies