UBISOFT
Ubisoft’s Winnipeg studio already boasts a staff of 60 people in just its first year of operation and is looking to boost that number to more than 100 within a five-year period. Photo by Darcy Finley
“We know that diversity makes us more creative. When everybody in the room is exactly the same and thinks exactly the same way, it’s a lot harder to generate great ideas. But, if you take two people that think very differently and you get them working together, they will absolutely generate ideas that are better than they could do alone.”
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already boasts 60 employees one year into its operations. Long says its staff includes many Manitobans, including some returning expats. “AAA video game development is completely new to Manitoba,” Long says. “The people who have dreamed of making AAA video games since they were kids, they previously had no choice, they had to move away if they wanted to pursue their dream.” “This studio is putting Manitoba on the video game industry map as a destination for creators and video games.” However, not everyone at Ubisoft Winnipeg comes from the gaming world. “We’ve got engineers, programmers, designers and artists, all working together under the same roof, sharing ideas with each other and collaborating together to make these games,” Long says. “We’re made up of veterans from the video game industry, as well as people who have spent their career in completely different industries.” Long believes diversity can drive innovation, pointing to such Ubisoft initiatives as community partnerships and the Ubisoft Winnipeg Scholarship for Women in Computer Science. “Diversity is very important to us and encouraging women in technology is a very big part of that initiative,” Long says. “There are absolutely barriers for women to get into technology fields and that is our way of helping them get over those barriers and start a career in technology.”
“We know that diversity makes us more creative. When everybody in the room is exactly the same and thinks exactly the same way, it’s a lot harder to generate great ideas. But, if you take two people that think very differently and you get them working together, they will absolutely generate ideas that are better than they could do alone.” Long says that diversity, combined with the studio’s emphasis on creativity, makes for an electric atmosphere. “Sometimes it can get pretty loud,” he says. “There are a ton of conversations happening on the floor all over, people discussing ‘How do we solve this problem?’ or ‘What’s a different way of doing this?’ while others are standing in front of a white board inventing some new technology.” “It’s very fast-paced, it’s very dynamic, it’s very creative, and it’s a lot of fun.” That dynamic culture is boosted by comprehensive health benefits, a flexible work schedule, monthly office festivities, environmental sustainability initiatives, and training and workshop opportunities. “It’s just empowering people to know they can chase their vision,” Long says. “When people realize ‘Oh, I can define a new way of making video games, I can define what video games will be in the future’ they will respond and chase that idea. “It doesn’t feel like work here, because you wake up every morning and you’re just ready to go.” ■
“We’re affiliated with the other Ubisoft Canadian studios in Montreal, Toronto and Quebec City, and they’re really the powerhouses of AAA (big budget) video game development,” says Ubisoft Winnipeg managing director Darryl Long. “We wanted to do something different in Manitoba. We’re more of a boutique studio and we specialize in doing one thing and doing it extremely well. We dedicated the studio to innovation, to developing new technologies to make our video games even better. We’re the only Ubisoft studio with a focus on innovation, and as far as I know, we’re the only video game studio in the entire industry that is completely focused on developing new technology.” That means made-in-Manitoba technologies will power future installments of Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry. Currently, Ubisoft Winnipeg is developing technologies related to cloud gaming and mobile gaming. “Every year, more and more players are playing video games on their phones, so we need to be on top of that,” Long says. “Video games, they’re not what they used to be. It used to be you made the game, you put it in a box, you put it on store shelves and that was it. Now, video games live for years. We’re able to develop games that keep our players engaged for years on end.” Ubisoft Winnipeg originally pledged to create 100 jobs over five years and
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WINTER 2019
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