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Ubisoft just expanded its presence in Nordic countries and opened its 31st studio in Stockholm, Sweden.
The publisher has chosen Patrick Bach, former studio manager at EA DICE, to lead this new studio, which will work hand-in-hand with Ubisoft’s other office in Sweden, Massive, located in Malm. Massive is the studio behind The Division, Far Cry 3 and Assassin’s Creed Revelations, and is currently working on Ubisoft’s Avatar project.
The new Stockholm office will work on this project as well, new studio head Patrick Bach said in Ubisoft’s blog post announcing the new studio. He also explained that 100 new jobs will be created in the next two years for the Stockholm studio, while Massive is also still recruiting for 200 positions.
Bach left EA DICE in November last year after 14 years at the studio, where he led the teams working on Star Wars Battlefront, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst and Battlefield 1. He commented: I feel like I will be able to use my potential in a new and different way in the Ubisoft family. I’m also looking forward to working with new world class colleagues around the world.”
He continued: Stockholm is one of the great gaming hubs of the world with a huge pool of experienced and creative talent. That together with an international buzz and a great atmosphere makes Stockholm a very unique place to create amazing games.
The focus is to create great games of course, including working with Massive on the recently announced Avatar game. To make great games you need a great team, a clear vision, great working conditions and a company backing you and supporting those pillars. I think we’ve got all those ingredients combined to make this studio a success, and offer something new on the dev scene in Stockholm.”
Massive’s MDDavid Polfeldt added:I am confident that Patrick Bach’s leadership skills, his desire to nurture the passion and creativity of the people he works with, and the attraction of Ubisoft’s renowned brands will encourage world-class talent to join Ubisoft Stockholm. The combination of these different elements will lay strong foundations for the new studio, enabling the team to focus on the quality and innovation of the games they create, and grow to become one of the best studios in the world.”
Christine Burgess-Qumard, executive director of Ubisoft’s worldwide studios, said:Ubisoft Stockholm is the latest example of Ubisoft’s selective expansion in Europe and beyond, aiming to tap into high potential talent pools, and further strengthen our existing local presences. We believe that Ubisoft Stockholm will be an important pillar in this expansion, enabling us to continue to attract some of the best talent in our industry.”
Stockholm is the third studio created by Ubisoft this year, after Berlin and Bordeaux back in April. The publisher even created a short video to announce its new Swedish location, that you can see below:
