Montreal

Ubisoft opens office in Saguenay as part of Quebec expansion plans

The video game maker Ubisoft is opening a new office in Saguenay as part of plans to expand in Quebec over the next decade.

Company could hire 125 people over next 5 years in new office

Demetrious Johnson enjoys some hands on gameplay at Ubisoft's Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands: War Within the Cartel earlier this year in Los Angeles. Ubisoft announced Tuesday it will open an office in Saguenay. (Casey Rodgers/Associated Press)

The videogame maker Ubisoft is opening a new office in Saguenay as part of plans to expand in Quebec over the next decade.

The France-based company, which already has a major presence in Montreal, said the Saguenay office could grow to 125 employees within five years.

The office will focus on the "development of connected experiences that allow millions of players to meet and interact on online game platforms."

"We are entrusting Ubisoft Saguenay with a mandate that is resolutely focused on the future," Yannis Mallat, the CEO of the Ubisoft Montréal, Quebec and Toronto studios, said in a statement. 

Mallat made the announcement Tuesday at a news conference in Chicoutimi alongside Premier Philippe Couillard.

​The new office is part of Ubisoft's larger expansion blueprint for Quebec, with plans to invest an additional $780 million and create 1,000 new jobs by 2027.

The province will contribute $160 million to help with the expansion, Couillard said.

In addition to Saguenay, Ubisoft anticipates creating 200 new jobs for Quebec City as well as 675 for Montreal and another new studio to be opened elsewhere in Quebec.

The company, best known for its Assassin's Creed series, already employs 3,600 people in Quebec, most of them in Montreal.

Jobs for the Saguenay office have already been posted on the company's website.