Ubisoft Pursues Film Special Effects, Animation

Ubisoft's interested in further crossover with Hollywood -- not through movie games, but by providing animation and special effects for films. "We want to create the capacity to develop special effects for movies. Those worlds have to merge more and more," Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot tells the Financial Times. "We don’t want to make movies, but the expertise we have is key to creating special effects, graphics and animation." This is not a new aim for the French publisher, who last year bought Hybride, the Montreal film effects studio behind films like 300 and Sin City. But Guillemot tells the FT that working with Twentieth Century Fox on the upcoming game based on the Avatar film has given Ubisoft new opportunities to learn about industry synergies, as they share development of assets across both film and game. "It is the first time we have been that close to a film studio," says Guillemot. "We have access to all their data as they create the game and they have access to ours." "There are all the synergies of content creation, and the advantage of launching a game and movie at the same time, so that all your marketing works together."