million over the next ten years. Reports are that the studio will begin operations in late 2009 and that the move will create 800 net new jobs throughout the ten year period. The new studio will be the fourth in Canada following in Ubisoft’s studios located in Montreal, Quebec City, and Vancouver.

“Today’s announcement marks a strategic move for Ubisoft as we continue to expand our internal development force,” said Yves Guillemot, president and chief executive officer at Ubisoft. “We are in an excellent position to grow and after extensive analysis we are thrilled to have reached an agreement with the government of Ontario to found our new studio in Toronto. The city is one of North America’s economic and cultural epicenters and our expectations are high. We’re excited to be able to count on the exceptional local talent, who will contribute to our accelerated growth and will have a profound impact on the video game industry with the excellence of their creativity.”

“We are incredibly excited to finally tap into the remarkable talent Ontario has been developing over the years,” said Yannis Mallat former CEO of Ubisoft Montreal who will be moving over to oversee operation in Toronto. “Toronto’s unique pool of experience video game industry and film industry talent will allow us to develop a team with exceptional ability to help us realize our goals for creating brands with universal appeal that extend beyond the world of video games.”

Though Ubisoft has more than twenty studios across the world, Montreal stands as the company’s flagship and Mallat will bring a wealth of experience that will help build the Toronto location. Under his steward, Ubisoft Montreal has released some of the industry’s biggest games including the revamped Prince of Persia games, Assassin’s Creed, and sequels to the original Far Cry. Also Ubisoft currently holds the license to Tom Clancy and his related works. As such Ubisoft Montreal was behind the development of titles in the Rainbow Six series as well as the Splinter Cell series.