The world's third largest video game company is anchored in Montpellier, where it has taken the rare step of investing in building its own studio. This is proof of a historic relationship where the Guillem brothers' group has given life to some of its most famous creatures.
Rayman, the video game ambassador in Montpellier? Definitely. The little character with no legs, arms or neck is an international star. Since his arrival to the market in 1995, over 20 million games have been sold worldwide. In addition, the number of downloads of its mobile phone versions has reached well over 30 million.
Rayman is the figurehead of Ubisoft Montpellier, a studio that occupies a very special place within its group being the world's number three in its sector. The genesis of the tireless creature is a story in itself: Michel Ancel, video game designer at the video game giant, decided to live in Montpellier. So, the group followed him, offering to create a game there. This is how the Montpellier studio came into being in 1993, along with the famous Rayman.
The team was formed on the site, spurred on by the success of its first hero, and got off to a flying start. Working as an artists' collective, it called on emblematic video game personalities when necessary, such as Frenchman Eric Chahi, creator of the cult Another World, under whose direction From Dust was developed in 2011 (1).
Rayman as well as The Raving Rabbids
This dynamic has worked. Over the years, the Ubisoft Montpellier studio has forged a personality of its own in the world of video games. Since Rayman, other stars have come to complete the list of its creations, starting with The Raving Rabbids (2006). These stupid animals have seduced tens of millions of players. Their success continues to this day: at Christmas 2017, Nintendo released an opus in which their adventures combine with Mario, and the game continued to be a great success in 2020.
Collaborations with Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg
But the studio's talent doesn't stop there. It puts as much passion into adapting cinematic universes as it does into inventing characters. Works include official games based on two films: King Kong (2005), by director Peter Jackson, and Tintin and the Secret of the Unicorn (2011), by Steven Spielberg. There is also a choreographed video game, The Experience, based on the songs of another super talent, Michael Jackson. And to maximise accuracy, the Ubisoft Montpellier studio called on the singer's choreographer, Travis Payne, who came especially to Montpellier, to refine the realism of this game based on the Just Dance game engine.
Although it is difficult to categorize, the studio's work is easy to identify. The projects that come out of Ubisoft Montpellier all have their own identity, full of emotion... For the most part, they couldn't have been made anywhere else.
The team is always on the lookout for technologies that can improve gameplay.
For example, The Raving Rabbids was the very first game created specifically for the Wii, taking advantage of the accelerometer on the Japanese made Nintendo console.
The Experience has also been made available on Wii.
Awarded by the Visual Effects Society
Today, the studio continues to innovate. This is demonstrated in the new episode of Beyond Good and Evil, BGE 2, on which they have been working since 2007. This prequel, which precedes the story told in the first opus released in 2003, is a huge project, with an unknown release date. Nevertheless, players are regularly kept informed. Two trailers have already been posted online, revealing the breath-taking image quality of the game in development. In fact, the trailer unveiled at E3 in Los Angeles received a 2018 award from the prestigious Visual Effects Society.
For the past 26 years, Ubisoft Montpellier has demonstrated a great innovative capacity, fueled by a particularly vibrant local video game ecosystem. The ultimate recognition is that the group is laying down roots once and for all in the Montpellier Métropole by investing in the construction of a 4,500 m² building in Castelnau le Lez, on a plot of land next to its former studio. To do this, it received help from Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole for the land and property and from the Occitanie Region for the financial aspects.
Montpellier, a "pioneer city" for Ubisoft
Inaugurated in September 2019, this new studio, with a dark, futuristic look, has three levels topped by a terrace. The building, designed by Montpellier architect Philippe Rubio, was conceived "to make people feel good." This is the first time that Ubisoft has custom built a production studio. "Montpellier is a pioneer city in video games for Ubisoft. We have created some extremely prestigious and important brands for our group here. Montpellier is an excellent city for attracting the best people," said Xavier Poix, who was director of Ubisoft's French studios at the time and has since been appointed managing director of Ubisoft in China.
Tim Cook "impressed" by Ubisoft Montpellier's teams
And when he said, "attracting the best", Xavier Poix couldn't have said it better, because, less than a fortnight later, Ubisoft Montpellier received Tim Cook, Steve Jobs' successor at the head of Apple. Accompanied by Yves Guillemot, the video game giant's co-founder, he came in great secrecy to meet with the Montpellier teams that had developed Rayman Mini, a platform game available at the launch of Apple Arcade, Apple's brand new subscription-based video game service.
Interviewed by the Midi Libre newspaper, Tim Cook said he was "impressed" by what he had just seen and by the creativity of the teams... The Montpellier touch.
(1) Since then, Éric Chahi has created his own studio in Montpellier: Pixel Reef