Ubisoft to invest in Quebec, expand mocap facilities

Ubisoft has announced plans to invest $373 million over seven years in its Quebec operations, creating 500 new jobs.

As well as expanding and reinforcing its infrastructure in existing studios, Ubisoft intends to expand its already impressive motion capture facilities.

The Quebec government has awarded Ubisoft $9.9 million to support its plans, including tax credits.

In a press release, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said the new generation of consoles; the growth of mobile; increasingly connected, immersive and social environments; and "the strategic importance of the relationship between developers and players" is having a profound effect in the industry, and that Ubisoft is investing now in order to support these trends in the future.

The 500 new jobs include familiar development roles as well as "community and network management specialists, business intelligence analysts, mathematicians, telemetry experts, systems operators, and monetization and interactive marketing specialists".

Quebec is, of course, home to Ubisoft Montreal, the lead studio of most of the publisher's triple-A projects including Assassin's Creed and Watch Dogs.