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Tag: Ubisoft

  • Reliance teams up with Blast to storm India’s booming esports arena

    Reliance teams up with Blast to storm India’s booming esports arena

    MUMBAI: Reliance Industries’ wholly-owned subsidiary Rise Worldwide has joined forces with European esports powerhouse Blast to form a joint venture that aims to revolutionise India’s nascent but rapidly expanding competitive gaming landscape.

    The partnership will leverage Blast’s tournament expertise and publisher relationships to bring global esports properties to Indian shores while developing bespoke competitions for the local market—a digital playground that already boasts a staggering 600 million gamers, representing 18 per cent of the world’s button-bashers.
    India’s gaming market, currently valued at $3.8bn, is projected to rocket to $9.2bn by 2029, growing at a blistering 19 per cent annually. Meanwhile, the global esports market is expected to surge from $2.8bn to $16.7bn by 2033, suggesting there are digital gold mines yet to be excavated.

    “India is one of the most exciting and fastest-growing gaming markets in the world,” said Blast chief executive Robbie Douek, whose company currently works with gaming titans including Epic Games, Valve, Riot Games, Krafton and Ubisoft across popular titles with a combined monthly player base exceeding 350 million.

    The new venture will capitalise on Blast’s production prowess and intellectual property portfolio while tapping into Jio’s technological muscle and distribution network via the JioGames platform. Services will span tournament management, targeted marketing, production and broadcasting—essentially creating a full-service esports juggernaut.

    “With this partnership, Indian esports will be able to realise its full potential,” said Reliance Sports  head Devang Bhimjyani.

    The timing appears impeccable, as the Indian government recently granted official recognition to esports by declaring it part of the “multi-sports event” category, providing legitimacy to a pursuit once dismissed as mere child’s play.

    Blast, known for producing tournaments that fill arenas and generate billions of views across 150+ territories, will now bring its show-stopping production values to a country where cricket has traditionally dominated sporting consciousness. With planned arena stops in global cities like London, Singapore, Austin and Rio in 2025, the addition of Indian venues seems a natural next step in the company’s expansion strategy.

    For India’s growing army of competitive gamers, the partnership offers tantalising prospects: international exposure, improved tournament infrastructure, and potentially, a shot at the multi-million dollar prize pools that have transformed gaming nerds into millionaire celebrities elsewhere in the world.

  • Battery Ventures invests sizeable sum in enterprise software firm Signiant

    Battery Ventures invests sizeable sum in enterprise software firm Signiant

    MUMBAI: Intelligent file transfer software  company Signiant has got a shot in the arm with technology-focused investment firm Battery Ventures investing a sizeable sum in it.  (Signiant called it “ a majority growth investment” though terms were not disclosed as the firm is  private.). 

    Signiant’s innovative technology allows large media files—from movies and TV shows to sports and news content—to move through the media supply chain quickly and securely, regardless of where the files are stored. The core technology is becoming more critical as media companies increasingly produce rich, effects-laden content for distribution across a range of online streaming platforms, often involving creators and vendors in multiple locations. From its key position at the foundation of the media tech stack, the company is now expanding the functionality of the file transfer SaaS platform into adjacent media services.  

    Signiant’s flagship products are used by some of the world’s largest media and entertainment companies in sectors such as post production, professional sports, gaming, and broadcast/cable TV. Customers include large companies such as NBCU, Warner Bro Discovery, Ubisoft and the National Hockey League, as well as many smaller companies throughout the global media ecosystem. 

    “We are thrilled to partner with Battery, a firm with a long history of scaling enterprise SaaS businesses, to begin writing the next chapter of the Signiant story,” said Signiant chief executive Margaret Craig. “Both the company and the media industry are at inflection points. We feel our solutions are uniquely suited to meet the current moment in media and entertainment, which demands the type of efficiency and fast time-to-value that only a modern multi-tenant SaaS platform can deliver.” 

    Signiant will use the investment from Battery to fund product development and go-to-market activities, as well as potential future acquisitions in the media technology space. The company previously completed two add-on acquisitions which expanded Signiant’s product footprint. The company remains committed to pursuing future acquisitions to better serve its customers.  

    “As the production of media content becomes more specialised and complex, owing to advancements in video and sound quality, and fancy visual effects, it means media files have gotten larger and more difficult to move around and track,” noted Battery Partner Dave Tabors. “In our view, Signiant has cracked the code on how to tackle this problem, building a robust SaaS business to facilitate the transfer of these files in a secure way. And we see the opportunity to grow the company’s market even more.” 

    Added Roland Anderson, a Battery principal: “Signiant’s solutions, including its Media Shuttle product—which uses a proprietary protocol to move files over any IP network, between both public cloud and on-premises storage locations–are high-quality and extremely sticky among its customers. We’re excited to work with the company to fuel further growth, both organic and through potential acquisitions.” Both Tabors and Anderson are joining Signiant’s board. 

    Pharus served as exclusive advisor to Signiant on the transaction and Mintz Levin acted as counsel to the company. 

  • Netflix, Ubisoft announce plans to create three mobile games

    Netflix, Ubisoft announce plans to create three mobile games

    MUMBAI: OTT platform Netflix and Ubisoft have announced plans to create three mobile games from game franchises to Netflix, starting in 2023. Announced at Ubisoft’s annual digital event Ubisoft Forward, the three games will expand on the Valiant Hearts, Mighty Quest and Assassin’s Creed universes, and will be available exclusively on mobile to Netflix members around the world with no ads or in-app purchases. 

    A new Valiant Hearts game, sequel to Ubisoft’s game Valiant Hearts: The Great War, is directed by the original core team and will retain the same DNA while featuring a new story. It will be available to Netflix members in January 2023. 

    After The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot mobile game, The Mighty Quest will come to Netflix in 2023 with a new game. This time, the game will draw inspiration from the roguelike genre to deliver an experience that celebrates the series’ premiere hack-and-slash combat in a fresh and highly replayable format.

    And for Assassin’s Creed fans, they will be able to immerse themselves in the Assassin’s Creed universe on Netflix in more than one way. In addition to the previously announced live-action series, an all-new mobile game is being developed exclusively for Netflix.

    “We’re thrilled to work with Ubisoft, whose track record creating memorable worlds for fans is unmatched. This partnership will provide our members with exclusive access to some of the most exciting game franchises as we continue to build a catalogue of great mobile games for our members around the world,” said Netflix’s vice president Games Mike Verdu.

    “As we continue to create great experiences on all platforms, we’re glad to be partnering with such an innovative and creative partner as Netflix. I believe that this partnership will be a great opportunity for Netflix members to further explore our worlds and universes on mobile” said Ubisoft chief mobile officer Jean-Michel Detoc. 

  • Digital Chocolate sells its Barcelona studio to Ubisoft

    Digital Chocolate sells its Barcelona studio to Ubisoft

    MUMBAI: Mobile-gaming developer Digital Chocolate is selling its 47-person strong Barcelona studio to French publisher Ubisoft.

    In addition to the employees, Ubisoft also purchased the rights to Digital Chocolate Barcelona’s original properties. Those include mobile games like Army Attack, MMA Pro Fighter and Zombie Lane.

    Digital Chocolate is a mobile developer based in San Mateo, Calif. It now maintains offices in California, Seattle, St. Petersburg, and Bangalore.

    Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins founded Digital Chocolate in 2003. The company is probably best known for its feature-phone games like Tower Bloxx and Tornado Mania! The company is struggling. It currently doesn’t have any games in the iOS highest-grossing charts.

    In 2012, Hawkins stepped down as chief executive officer. The developer also closed its Helsinki office and laid off 180 people.

  • Michael Bay to helm Ubisoft’s ‘Ghost Recon’ with Warner Bros

    Michael Bay to helm Ubisoft’s ‘Ghost Recon’ with Warner Bros

    MUMBAI: Transformers director Michael Bay is all geared up for his next covert venture with the French Game developer Ubisoft. Bay will reportedly helm the movie adaption of Tom Clancy‘s Ghost Recon into a potential film franchise at Warner Bros.
     
    The film adaption would be Bay‘s maiden association with Warner Bros after previously producing and helming films primarily with Disney, Sony, DreamWorks and Paramount.

    Ghost Recon revolves around a fictional unit of the US Army Special Forces that essentially operates as the president‘s private force, using the latest technology to infiltrate and take down threats around the world without leaving any traces behind that they exist.
     
    Adding to the gaming plot of game, Ubisoft Motion Pictures CEO Jean Julien Baronnet, commented, "These guys don‘t belong to any specific organisation. They‘re in the field where the US troops are not supposed to be. It‘s a small team with very strong personalities and very specific skill sets. They‘re using weapons nobody knows about but it‘s grounded. It‘s not sci-fi, and Ubisoft wanted to work with Bay because he is a master at action movies."
     
    Micheal Bay is currently directing the fourth installment in the million dollar Transformers series with Paramount studios. Bay‘s take on Ghost Recon will be the third high-profile adaptation of the games that Ubisoft has set up within the past year, with New Regency co-producing both Assassin‘s Creed and Splinter Cell. Twentieth Century Fox has already set Memorial Day 2015 as the release date for Assassin‘s Creed, which will star Michael Fassbender in the lead, and The Dark Knight Rises star Tom Hardy in Splinter Cell.
     
    With these game adaptations planning to flood the Box Office soon, Ubisoft is playing it safe by not just licensing the films rights to Hollywood, but also taking more control in how the games shall be adapted, while not compromising on the game‘s DNA but all the same retelling a brand new story not based on what gamers have already played.
     
    Going ahead with the project Ubisoft is in the process of hiring screenwriters to tackle Ghost Recon while also planning to attach more talent by July. Ghost Recon, the game which was launched in 2001, has sold over 24 million games under nine titles, four expansion packs and a Facebook game too. Its latest version called Ghost Recon: Future Soldier released successfully in 2012.
     
    Giving its audiences the taste of the game‘s big screen thunder Ubisoft already has produced a live action short film for the franchise, Ghost Recon Alpha directed by Francois Alaux and Herve de Crecy and produced by Ridley Scott.

  • Ubisoft and Touchstone team up to create ‘Lost’ game

    Ubisoft and Touchstone team up to create ‘Lost’ game

    MUMBAI: Video game publisher Ubisoft has inked a long-term worldwide licensing agreement with Touchstone Television to develop and publish a video game based on Lost.

    Developed by Ubisoft’s Montréal studio and scheduled to hit retail shelves worldwide in 2007, the game will be offered for home and portable consoles as well as PCs.

    “We are delighted to work with Bryan Burk, one of the biggest producers in Hollywood and with Touchstone Television. That they have chosen us for the adaptation of the cult series Lost is the best homage that a producer can make to the creativity of Ubisoft,” said Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot.

    “This deal is another example of how truly powerful the Lost brand is. We are excited to work together with Ubisoft to create a gaming experience that will allow fans to further immerse themselves into the mysteries and intrigues of the series,” said ABC Entertainment and Touchstone Television senior vice president business development Bruce Gersh.

    “The creative appeal of Lost transcends borders with its character driven stories and addictive mysterious mythology. It’s not enough for fans worldwide to just watch Lost, the game is a wonderful opportunity to organically extend this creative phenomenon into an interactive consumer experience,” said Touchstone Television executive vice president Julia Franz.

    “Many of us on Lost have been hardcore gamers for years and the chance to work with Ubisoft, a company behind some of our favorite titles, has excited us to no end. With the ability to tell new interactive stories within the Lost universe, we’re giddy to be developing a game that, once completed, will be as engaging and fun to play as it is to create,” said Lost executive producer Bryan Burk.