Last July 2018, I got a chance to visit and tour around the new studio of Ubisoft Philippines. Last 2016 they’ve announced that they are coming here in the Philippines to operate and build their new studio and also they want to hire pinoy talents to work with them and be part of the game development industry.
Everyone got excited for the announcement and after 2 years, they launched their new studio located inside the DLSU campus in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. And we learned that they have a partnership with DLSU and we’re happy to hear that game developing is now part of their curriculum. With the partnership of Ubisoft and DLSU, first batch of students for this year will be the new candidates for training at Ubisoft when they graduate, and have a possibility to land a job there.
The new building inside DLSU Sta Rosa, Laguna is new and it is surrounded by lots of trees and green. The new studio of Ubisoft Philippines is a three storey building that can fill hundreds of game developers that can work for Ubisoft’s clients abroad.
As of now, The studio here is the first and only facility co-developing AAA games in the Philippines, and they produce games - Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, Assassin’s Creed: Origins, The Crew 2, For Honor, and Skull & Bones.
The new studio is designed to showcase one of the company’s important values: “serious about fun.” In line with the studio’s strong team ambition of developing “the most memorable experiences for players,” Ubisoft provides employees an environment that encourages creativity and collaboration, as well as spaces to relax, shares Chip Go, Studio Manager of Ubisoft Philippines. The studio boasts of numerous game stations, a dedicated pantry, break-out spaces/lounge areas per floor, a ping-pong table, a giant slide for going between floors, and a full roof deck for barbeques and events.
“At Ubisoft Philippines, we take fun seriously and our new studio is the embodiment of this motto. Our staff pushes the quality bar to international standards, and we are more than happy to provide them with an environment that is conducive to creativity, collaboration and self-expression. This is reflected in our office architecture, such as the open-floor design and the break-out spaces which promote communication and fosters teamwork,” says Go.
Ubisoft Philippines is not just here to hire pinoys for their game development business, but also their company is here for the the community with the help of DLSU to help build the next generation of Pinoy game developers, that's why DLSU opened a game development course this year. Ubisoft Philippines also partnered with Passerelles Numeriques, an NGO that helps underprivileged kids in Cebu to enter the IT industry with proper training and education, today Ubisoft Philippines and Passerelles Numeriques sponsored 10 students to be part of the educational program.
Ubisoft Philippines will continue its expansion in the country, hiring up to 200 game developers in the coming years. Current openings are available for artists, programmers, project managers and more, says Suzy Belizario, Talent Acquisition Manager at Ubisoft Philippines.
The company is committed to train its staff to be globally competitive and regularly conducts training sessions with international experts in the studio. In addition, there are different overseas training opportunities at Ubisoft locations around the world. Since 2016, Ubisoft Philippines has sent dozens of employees to international studios in Paris, Montreal, Singapore and Chengdu. Employee compensation and benefits packages are also competitive.
“Filipinos looking to get into game development now have the opportunity to work for a world-class game developer right on home soil. We are always looking for fresh talent who can contribute to our team’s continued success and who can be a part of the AAA games we are developing,” says Belizario.
Inside: Ubisoft Philippines
Check out that big slide connecting the 2nd floor and the ground floor. Ubisoft Philippines want to show here that they are always having fun while at work. The media guest that day tried the slide, but I got scared to try it and told them I will just use the stairs haha.
The building shows some elements about the Philippines, here at the ground floor, which will be converted to another working area for their game creators, has a mural artwork showing some popular tourist spots, Filipino elements, famous monuments and statue of our national heroes.
During the program, Ubisoft PH presented to us their youngest game developer, who was hired for years and now she’s happy working with the company.
Lots of great things offered by Ubisoft Philippines, if you are interested to be part of the team, you can apply via their website and Facebook. For incoming college students, there’s a game developments course being offered by DLSU, you should check it out and ask your parents to support you for your dream to be working in the gaming industry.
At the 2nd level, we saw the Ubisoft team working on some new games and also testing some games. We’re not allowed to take photos of the screen, because there’s some top secret games that are work in progress and we tried to squeeze Ubisoft to spill some info but they told us that there’s something new coming out created by the pinoy game developers here at Ubisoft PH
We saw some of the Ubisoft team are playing some games. Maybe on a test run or just chillaxing -- or finding some bugs.
At the 3rd floor, more space will be opened to welcome more pinoy game developers
Our tour guide, from Ubisoft SG office.
View from the roof top of the building. I heard that will convert the roof top into a BBQ party area for their team. Wow! Sounds fun .
Just Dance gamers on stage. Also part of the Ubisoft team. They’ve performed that day and showed to us their dance talent.
OMG! My first time to play Rainbow Six game.
Spotted some books at their mini library area.
There’s also some games that you can borrow and play it at the gaming area.
Ubisoft PH gave this to me! Yay! Thank you! Now I need to find a friend who owns an Xbox One. I do have an Xbox at home but its the 1st gen. Hahaha
Great experience here at Ubisoft PH and we’re so glad that the Philippines has chosen again to be their base of operation. I know after this there will be more game companies that will come and open their studio here.
See you soon Ubisoft PH!
