Gaming giant Ubisoft has no plans to leave Quebec, despite the growing labor shortage in the province.
Ubisoft currently employs about 5,000 people in four Quebec cities, including about 4,000 at its Montreal hub.
“Currently it’s more difficult to recruit here than in Europe, but it’s less difficult than in the U.S.,” Ubisoft co-founder and chief executive officer Yves Guillemot told the Montreal Gazette in an interview. “Quebec fits somewhere in between the two.”
The company has added over 700 employees in the province this year, a record hiring figure for the French company.
“Ubisoft’s Quebec studios are among the best in the world,” Guillemot said. “The creations that come out of these studios are popular everywhere, which allows us to recruit highly qualified individuals. But the competition for talent has increased in Montreal. We have opened studios in the regions to make sure we can be closer to where people want to be.”
In a separate interview, Guillemot addressed the rumors of toxicity in the company, saying that it was “necessary.”
He said, “Creating a video game is not easy. There are “challenges” to overcome, and a lot of tension is created from time to time […] to create, you need some friction.”
Ubisoft was plagued by news of sexual misconduct in 2020, and Guillemot says the company has put measures in place to prevent a reoccurrence.
“I’ve spent a lot of time with the teams this week, and the atmosphere inside the studio is superb,” Guillemot said. “There is a real pleasure in working for Ubisoft. But we have to make sure this is the case for everyone, which is why we have put a lot of systems in place.”
The company is responsible for a number of iconic gaming franchises, including Assassin’s Creed and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six.
