Ubisoft is expanding its Quebec operations into the Saguenay region as it plans to create as many as 1,000 new jobs in the province over the next ten years.

The French video game giant - which already employs some 3,600 people in Montreal and Quebec City - confirmed on Tuesday what it believes to be its “most important growth plan” in the province in 20 years.

The company, which first opened a bureau in the province in 1997, is expected to invest about $780 million into Quebec in the coming decade, including $135 million in the Saguenay. The company also plans to open an additional studio.

"We are proud to have contributed to the emergence of Quebec as one of the leading international video game production centres,” said Ubisoft co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot at a news conference in Chicoutimi.

Guillemot said the video game company has invested more than $3.5 billion in the province in the past 20 years.

“We have a unique opportunity to build the technological Quebec of the future together. That's why today we are announcing the most ambitious of our growth plans in Quebec, the opening of a studio in Saguenay and our desire to push our vision of regional development even further.”

Guillemot was in Chicoutimi along with Ubisoft Montreal/Toronto/Quebec CEO Yannis Mallat and Premier Philippe Couillard for the announcement

“The opening of an Ubisoft studio in Saguenay will diversify the economy of our region and meet the objectives of new goals raised at the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean Economic Summit held two years ago,” said Couillard.

The Quebec government offers a tax credit that can reach up to 37.5 per cent of labour costs for job creation in the video game industry.

“By offering gaming companies a stable, predictable and competitive fiscal framework that encourages major investments such as the one announced today, we are positioning Quebec as a leader in this sector and as a centre of excellence recognized internationally,” said Finance Minister Carlos Leitao.

In addition to the 125 positions in Saguenay over the next five years, an additional 200 jobs are planned for Quebec City and 675 for Montreal.

Over the years, Ubisoft's Quebec studios have developed some of the most popular brands of the French multinational, including Assasin's Creed and Far Cry.

 

With files from The Canadian Press