Images from Ubisoft’s game Assassin’s Creed III.
Video-game maker Ubisoft Entertainment SA is expanding its operations in Montreal with a $373-million investment over the next seven years that is expected to create 500 new jobs.
The Paris-based company said on Monday it plans to consolidate its U.S. online-game operations as well as its infrastructure for its global network in Montreal.
Ubisoft said it will also invest in the expansion of its motion-capture technologies expertise in the city.
The company said it anticipates providing 3,500 jobs – up from about 2,500 today – in its Quebec studios by 2020.
The Quebec government is to kick in $9.9-million in the form of a non-refundable grant, as well as make adjustments to the tax credit for multimedia titles which will allow new job categories to be recognized.
"The imminent arrival of the next generation of consoles, the expansion of mobile platforms, the multiplication of connected, immersive, and social environments, and the strategic importance of the relationship between developers and players are profoundly transforming the video game industry," Ubisoft co-founder and chief executive officer Yves Guillemot said in a statement.
The 500 new jobs will cover a gamut of skill-requirements for the development, production and operations of the next generation of video games, the company said.
New-generation positions include community and network management specialists, business intelligence analysts, mathematicians, telemetry experts, systems operators, and monetization and interactive marketing specialists, said Ubisoft.
The company has benefited from government tax credits and financial aid over the 10 years since it first set up shop in Montreal in 1997 with a development studio for console and PC video games.
Its growth has boosted Montreal's status as one of the top digital-games centres in the world.
Ubisoft has offices in 29 countries.
Bertrand Marotte