Ubisoft acquires Amazon Games Montreal team, marking the return of Rainbow Six Siege’s director
The team is behind MOBA Mark of Giants
Ubisoft is acquiring the team behind an upcoming MOBA at Amazon Games Montreal, it’s announced, which will see the original creative director of Rainbow Six Siege return to the publisher six years after he left.
No terms of the deal have been disclosed, but the move will see Ubisoft obtain the rights for the upcoming MOBA game March of Giants, which began closed alpha testing on PC earlier this year, and its entire development team will join the company.
As part of the agreement, Amazon will provide Ubisoft with marketing support for March of Giants on Twitch.
March of Giants’ creative director is Xavier Marquis, who led development on Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege. The game’s production leader, Alexandre Parizeau, is another former Ubisoft leader, having served as MD of its Toronto studio.
In a statement, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot welcomed Marquis and Parizeau back to the company and said that their return would bring proven expertise in building “globally successful competitive and live games” to Ubisoft.
According to a press release, their team will become part of a future ‘creative house’, which are the new divisions Ubisoft is organising its teams within.
“March of Giants has a real opportunity to bring something fresh and dynamic to players, and to help Ubisoft compete in one of gaming’s biggest arenas,” said Guillemot.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming back Alexandre, Xavier, and many of the seasoned March of Giants team who have previously worked at Ubisoft, and the entire team’s ambition, creativity and talent align perfectly with our desire to build bold new experiences for players. We look forward to supporting them as they shape the future of this promising new IP.”
Marquis said his own statement: “Returning to Ubisoft brings things full circle. We built some of our most meaningful work here, and we’re excited to continue developing March of Giants from within Ubisoft. This game has enormous potential, and I know Ubisoft can help us take it to the next level.”
Parizeau added, “My thanks go to Amazon for their commitment during the first chapters of March of Giants. Our closed alpha was an important milestone and showed a glimpse of the game’s real promise. Now, by joining Ubisoft, we’re uniting behind a shared vision to build March of Giants into one of the next great, enduring MOBAs.”
The sale of the Amazon Games Montreal game comes weeks after the corporation announced significant cuts to its video game business, including ending MMO development. Notably, at the time, the corporation named March of Giants as one of its upcoming titles.
It’s not clear if anything will remain of Amazon Games Montreal following the March of Giants deal, but VGC has asked Amazon for clarification.
“We’re proud of what our team in Montreal has built with March of Giants,” said Steve Boom, VP of Audio, Twitch, and Games at Amazon in Monday’s announcement. “We’re confident that under Ubisoft’s leadership, the talented developers in Montreal will continue to thrive and create amazing game experiences.”
