Summary
It’s no secret that a lot of people have issues withUbisoft. The company is one of the biggest publishers in gaming, but it has an image problem. While many ofthe best Ubisoft gamesare beloved gaming icons, many gamers feel the company’s output has become overly formulaic and monetized. It’s not uncommon for the latest Ubisoft games to get review bombed as soon as they release.
But gamers often forget that Ubisoft isn’t a single company. Rather, it’s a collection of over 45 studios sharing 21,000 employees between them. As problematic as some of Ubisoft Entertainment’s policies can be, many of the people — and in house studios — that work for Ubisoft just want to produce fun games. So for a change, rather than dunking on them, let’s celebrate some of Ubisoft’s most successful in-house studios.
7Ubisoft Paris
Ghost Recon, Rayman, Just Dance
Ubisoft Paris is the company’s oldest in-house studio. Founded in 1992, the studio has worked on a handful of Ubisoft’s oldest and best-known franchises. In its early days, Ubisoft Paris made the originalRaymangames (someof Ubsioft’s hardest titles) and has since turned to making spin-offs. While Rayman might not be up there with the likes of Mario or Crash Bandicoot, he’s still a platforming legend who deserves respect. Unfortunately, that means the studio is at least partially responsible for the cultural blight that is the rabbids.
On the bright side, the studio is also responsible for developing theTom Clancy’s Ghost Reconseries, as well as the massively popularJust Dancegames.Just Dancebecame one of the biggest rhythm game franchises around, whileGhost Reconhelped revolutionize stealth games.Ubisoft Paris struggled withGhost Recon Breakpointbut, after a disastrous launch, has managed to save face with post-launch updates. With iconic franchises and over thirty years of experience, it’s easy to see why Ubisoft’s oldest studio is one of its best.
6Ubisoft Montpellier
Rayman, Beyond Good & Evil, Prince of Persia
Founded in 1994, Ubisoft Montpellier is another of the company’s older studios. In the 2000s and early 2010s, the studio was entrusted with some high-profile, not-terrible movie tie-ins, includingThe Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the UnicornandPeter Jackson’s King Kong. Anyone familiar with gaming history can attest to the rarity of decent movie tie-ins during this time. The studio also showed off its technical abilities when it built theUbiArt Framework.This engine has been in well-received titles likeRayman Origins, Rayman Legends,and indie hitValiant Hearts: The Great War.
It’s an impressive portfolio, but not what the studio is most famous for. Ubisoft Montpellier gave gamers one ofUbisoft’s best female heroes, Jade, in the cult classicBeyond Good and Evil. That game’s success is the stuff of legend these days, and, according to reports, the studio is still hard at work on the game’s long-waited sequel. Considering the studio’s excellent work on the UbiArt Framework and how well received their most recent game was, it looks like the game is in good hands.
5Ubisoft Toronto
Watch Dogs: Legion, Far Cry 6, Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Ubisoft Toronto was built around one ofthe most influential stealth games ever made:Splinter Cell. The first few games in the franchise were made by Ubisoft Montreal, but in 2010, Ubisoft Toronto was founded and set to work onSplinter Cell: Blacklist. The studio was mostly made up ofSplinter Cell: Convictionveterans, and the game was a massive hit. Those veterans were the secret to the studio’s early success, whileBlacklist’s critical acclaim attracted even more talented developers.
Unfortunately for Ubisoft Toronto, that’s where its fortunes peaked. After Ubisoft shelved theSplinter Cellfranchise, the studio was relegated to helping out on other studio’s games, includingFar Cry 4andAssassin’s Creed Unity. Since both games are stealth-focused, it made a certain degree of sense to put Ubisoft Toronto to work on them after their work onBlacklist. However, relegating a studio with such a stealth pedigree to backup duty seems like a waste of talent.Far Cry 4was well received, but the same can’t be said forAssassin’s Creed Unity.
More recently, Ubisoft Toronto developedWatch Dogs: LegionandFar Cry 6, which were both disappointing. Both games had potential, but were held back by Ubisoft’s wider design ethos. Ubisoft Toronto is one of Ubisoft’s best studios when it comes to pure stealth games; they just need their parent company to back off.
4Massive Entertainment
Tom Clancy’s The Division 1 & 2, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Star Wars Outlaws
Massive Entertainment was founded in 1997 and made a name for itself making RTS games before Ubisoft snatched it up in 2008. Since then, the studio has created some of Ubisoft’s best games while also having to carry out some of the publishers' dirty work. Massive Entertainment helped buildUplay, Ubisoft’s much maligned online system. Uplay has never worked properly, even after being relaunched as Ubisoft Connect. Still, the fact that Massive Entertainment was in charge of it shows off their main strength: software engineering.
On the bright side, the studio built the impressive Snowdrop engine, which it then used to makeTom Clancy’s The DivisionandDivision 2, two ofthe best looter-shooters ever made. Other studios have also adapted the engine. This success led to Ubisoft handing the studio games based on both theAvatarandStar Warsfilm series.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandoradidn’t sell very well, but it is a pretty good game.Star Wars Outlawsis a different story. Its release hasn’t gone well, and the game is pretty buggy. Prerelease, the game was mired in controversy thanks to Ubisoft’s business practices. Hopefully, with its impressive technical acumen, Massive Entertainment can saveStar Wars Outlawspost-release via updates.
3Ubisoft San Francisco
Rocksmith, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, XDefiant
Ubisoft San Francisco was founded in 2009 and released its first game two years later. That game wasRocksmith, a music video game designed to teach gamers to play the guitar. It was a massive critical and commercial success. Following that, the studio was introduced to Matt Stone and Trey Parker and got to work onSouth Park: The Fractured but Whole, a follow-up to the smash hitSouth Park: The Stick of Truth.
After that, the studio supported other studios in both theAssassin’s CreedandFar Cryfranchises, offering technical support. Its next big solo release didn’t come until 2024, and it didn’t disappoint. The release in question.XDefiant, is a competitive free-to-play live-service shooter based on some of Ubisoft’s most successful franchises.XDefiantis one ofthe best-value FPS games around,although its player base has dropped a bit.
Most Ubisoft studios tend to stick to specializing in one or two genres, but San Francisco is different. None of their games have much in common besides their general quality. For the time being, it looks like the studio will be busy withXDefiantupdates, but it’s exciting to see what type of game they’ll make next.
2Ubisoft Quebec
Immortals Fenyx Rising, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
Ubisoft Quebec is a rising star. Founded in 2005, the studio was originally created to back up its siblings. Early on, it helped develop DLC forAssassin’s Creed, playing a major role in bothAssassin’s Creed 3’s King WashingtonandFreedom CryforBlack Flag. These aren’t the most glamorous of tasks for a game studio, but it was a good way for Ubisoft Quebec to prove itself within the company.
In 2015, the studio got its first big break when it was made the lead developer ofAssassin’s Creed Syndicate. It was the studio’s first AAA game, and they didn’t disappoint. They followed that up withAssassin’s Creed Odyssey(one ofthe bestAssassin’s Creedgames) in 2018 andImmortals Fenyx Risingin 2020. Ubisoft receives a lot of criticism for its open-world designs, but each of Quebec’s open worlds has been praised for its level of detail. Each game they’ve made has also featured impressive storytelling. Ubisoft Quebec has recently been hard at work onAssassin’s Creed Shadows,which is due out in late 2024.
1Ubisoft Montreal
Far Cry, Splinter Cell, Rainbow Six, Watch Dogs, For Honor
Ubisoft Montreal was founded in 1997 and has been the publisher’s biggest studio ever since. With over 4,000 employees, it’s also one of the largest studios in the world. This sheer size means the studio can work on multiple games at once, and can lead massive projects that would sink the smaller studios.
The studio first found fame withPrince of Persia: The Sands of TimeandSplinter Cellbefore developing theFar Cryfranchise. Ubisoft Montreal was the lead developer on everyFar Crygame except 6. Likewise, it’s been the lead developer on nearly every mainAssassin’s Creedentry and is responsible forRainbow Six Siege. For many years, Ubisoft Montreal has been the company’s flagship studio, entrusted with leading the way.
Ubisoft Montreal is also the publisher’s first stop when it wants to develop new intellectual properties. The studio createdFor Honor,Watch Dogs,andHyper Scape. Many considerAssassin’s Creed Valhallato be the studio’s greatest achievement. Since that game was released in 2020, Ubisoft Montreal has been pretty quiet, but that doesn’t mean they’re no longer Ubisoft’s golden goose. Ubisoft Montreal currently has bigPrince of PersiaandAssassin’s Creedtitles in the pipeline.
