Ubisoft Singapore Pte. Ltd.
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
Founded2008; 16 years ago (2008)
HeadquartersFusionopolis, One-north,
Singapore
Key people
Jean-Francois Vallee (managing director)
Number of employees
350 (2018)
ParentUbisoft
Websitewww.ubisoftsingapore.com

Ubisoft Singapore Pte. Ltd. is a Singaporean video game developer and studio of Ubisoft based at Fusionopolis in One-north, Singapore. The studio was founded in 2008 and has contributed to the majority of Assassin's Creed games. It also led the development of the 2024 title Skull and Bones.

History

Ubisoft Singapore is a development studio based in Singapore that was established in 2008 by French video game company Ubisoft.[1] The studio was founded by a small team who were working at the company's Paris headquarters.[1] They had a goal to effort to initiate a game-production network in Southeast Asia.[1] The studio is located at Fusionopolis, a research and development complex in the one-north district.[1]

Singapore's openness to international business, the availability of staff trained in software development, and the popularity of the emerging free-to-play and mobile game markets in Asia were key factors in Ubisoft's decision to open a studio in the country.[1] The studio works closely with DigiPen's international campus in Singapore on a program to foster local talent for video game development.[2] Ubisoft Singapore operates with multiple teams working on different projects simultaneously.[1]

In 2017, the studio was still headed by its initial leadership team and had grown to over 300 employees.[1] Former members of studio established other Ubisoft operations in Asia, including Ubisoft Philippines and Ubisoft Chengdu.[1] As of July 2018, the studio employs 350 people led by Hugues Ricour, who serves as managing director for Ubisoft Singapore and sister studio Ubisoft Philippines.[3]

Ubisoft Singapore was one of several studios (such as Ubisoft Toronto) that were included in the larger reports of sexual harassment and discrimination within the whole of Ubisoft starting in 2020; Ricour stepped down as managing director as part of Ubisoft's internal reviews from these allegations but remained with the studio in November 2020.[4] He was succeeded by Darryl Long.[5] Following a July 2021 report from Kotaku regarding sexual harassment and workplace discrimination within the studio,[6] Singapore's Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) began its own investigation into the studio in August 2021.[7]

Ubisoft announced on 1 June 2023 that Darryl Long would become managing director of its Toronto office.[8] Jean-Francois Vallee then took over the role on 1 January 2024.[9]

Games

Ubisoft Singapore's first project was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled (2009), a remake of an existing arcade game.[1] After the success of 2007's Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft began devoting more resources to its 2009 sequel with the intention of elevating Assassin's Creed to be the company's flagship series.[1] This created an opportunity for Ubisoft Singapore to contribute to Assassin's Creed 2's development by producing assets and designing the game's linear challenges.[1] Several members of staff who worked on the first Assassin's Creed game moved to the Singapore to provide the team with some experience.[1] As Ubisoft Singapore continued working on the series, they were granted with more responsibility, which led them to take charge of more distinctive parts of the games, including the naval combat in 2012's Assassin's Creed III.[1] The studio has worked on every Assassin's Creed title since the second game, including major contributions to Unity (2014), Syndicate (2015), and Origins (2017).[1]

The studio's softography also includes Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Phantoms, a free-to-play, microtransaction-supported tactical shooter that launched in 2012 but was closed down 2016.[1] The studio led development on the naval warfare game Skull and Bones.[1]

Games developed

Year Title Platform(s) Ref.
2009 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 [1]
Assassin's Creed II PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One [1]
2010 Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands PlayStation 3, Wii, Windows, Xbox 360 [2]
2011 Assassin's Creed: Revelations PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One [1]
2012 Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360 [citation needed]
Assassin's Creed III PlayStation 3, Wii U, Windows, Xbox 360 [1]
2013 Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Wii U, Windows, Xbox 360 [1]
2014 Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Phantoms Windows [1]
Assassin's Creed Unity PlayStation 4, Stadia, Windows, Xbox One [1]
Assassin's Creed Rogue PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One [1]
2015 Assassin's Creed Syndicate PlayStation 4, Stadia, Windows, Xbox One [1]
2017 Assassin's Creed Origins [1]
2018 Assassin's Creed Odyssey Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Stadia, Windows, Xbox One [citation needed]
2020 Assassin's Creed Valhalla PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Stadia [10]
2024 Skull and Bones PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S [1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa Thursten, Chris (14 September 2017). "Studio Profile: Ubisoft Singapore". Edge. No. 311. pp. 94–97. ISSN 1350-1593.
  2. ^ a b Leo, Jon (18 July 2011). "Game Development in Singapore: A Primer". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 11 October 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  3. ^ "IGN SEA Interviews: Hugues Ricour of Ubisoft Singapore". IGN. Ziff Davis, LLC. 11 July 2018. Archived from the original on 8 November 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  4. ^ Gach, Ethan (18 November 2020). "Ubisoft Removes Managing Director Of Its Skull And Bones Studio". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  5. ^ Singapore, Ubisoft (1 March 2021). "Introducing our new Managing Director, Darryl Long". Ubisoft Singapore. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  6. ^ Gach, Ethan (21 July 2021). "The Messy, Stalled Reckoning At An Assassin's Creed Co-Developer". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 21 July 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  7. ^ Chia, Osmond; Chee, Kenny (17 August 2021). "Ubisoft S'pore under probe over workplace complaints". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  8. ^ "This Week at Ubisoft: Ubisoft Forward 2023 Coming June 12, Ubisoft+ Adds New Indies". news.ubisoft.com. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  9. ^ "Ubisoft Singapore opens new studio space in Fusionopolis Walk". Singapore Business Review. 17 November 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  10. ^ Porter, Jon (18 August 2021). "Ubisoft Singapore probed by national watchdog after toxic workplace allegations". The Verge. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.

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