FRENCH game developer and publisher Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is set to open a studio in Biñan, Laguna, in the second quarter this year, amid company takeover threats.
Ubisoft Philippines will be temporarily housed in a building inside a campus by the De La Salle University (DLSU), as the company awaits completion of a construction of an “Innovation Center” in the same compound. That building, according to Gameloft Philippines Inc. Studio Manager Chip Go, will be the permanent home of the studio.
“Right now we have a temporary space. [DLSU] is completing the Innovation Center inside STC. It’s 2,000 square meters and has multiple floors,” Go told the BusinessMirror on the sidelines of the company’s announcement in Makati City late March. Ubisoft Philippines will be hiring up to 50 people in its first year and will be involved in codeveloping “AAA” games, Go said. “AAA” is a classification for games with the highest development budget and level of promotions.
Go did not disclose which titles Ubisoft Philippines will be working on as soon as it opens.
Ubisoft is known for gaming titles such as “Assassin’s Creed,” “Ghost Recon,” “Far Cry Primal” and its latest installment of “Tom Clancy’s The Division.” The latter broke the company’s record sales for the first five days with $330 million, according to documents provided by Go.
The opening of the Philippine studio has nothing to do with the hostile takeover bid by French multimedia company Vivendi, said Olivier de Rotalier, Ubisoft Singapore Pte. Ltd. managing director.
“We want to remain independent,” de Rotalier said. “I think our message was clear. It’s nothing to do really with the Vivendi story but it’s about the road map for Ubisoft to keep on growing and growing. It’s not really into the Vivendi story,” de Rotalier told the BusinessMirror.
Late last year, Vivendi started buying shares in Ubisoft and game developer Gameloft, SE, both companies owned by the Guillemot family. To date, Vivendi owns 15 percent and 30 percent shares of Ubisoft and Gameloft, respectively.
Five days before the March 29 announcement of putting up a studio in the Philippines, the 30-year-old Ubisoft posed a “talent exodus” against Vivendi to prevent its company takeover plans, according to a Bloomberg report.
Ubisoft said some of their Singapore-based developers are coming to the Philippines to become its founding members and to train new recruits in developing games.
“We chose to grow in the Philippines because of its great talent pool and I am confident the new studio will meet our demanding standards,” de Rotalier said.
The Laguna-based studio is the second Ubisoft hub in Southeast Asia after its Singapore studio, which was built in 2008.
De Rotalier and Go declined to disclose the amount of Ubisoft’s investment in the Philippines.
What the executives did announce is its deal with the DLSU College of Computer Studies to launch two new undergraduate courses: a four-year program Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Major in Game Development and Bachelor of Science in Entertainment and Multimedia Computing. The two courses, according to de Rotalier, will be offered in academic years 2017 to 2018 and 2018 to 2019, respectively.
“The university recognizes the need to integrate industry-driven skills and experience into its technology research and innovation programs. The alliance with Ubisoft will help provide this,” DLSU President Raymundo Suplido said in DLSU’s blog.
The undergraduate courses will be housed in the school’s Science and Technology Complex, according to Suplido, who added that some of the subjects will be taught by Ubisoft developers.
When asked if there is a possibility that Ubisoft would make an eSports-oriented title, de Rotalier remained optimistic.
“We are in many different areas,” de Rotalier said. “Of course, we are interested in all the opportunities that arm the market, so why not?”
However, Go said he can’t assure gamers that there will be a Philippine-inspired game title in the near future following the creation of a Ubisoft studio in the country.
“In terms of the [creativity] of each game, I can’t speculate on that,” Go said. “But who knows? Keep an eye out.”
Image credits: Nonie Reyes