The grand prize and National Bank special prize winners take home a combined $75,000 at the seventh annual Ubisoft Indie Series presented by National Bank.
ASTROLABE Interactive Inc. was named the grand prize winner in the 2023 Ubisoft Indie Series presented by National Bank, taking home the $50,000 grand prize. Lucid Dreams Studio won $25,000 as winner of the National Bank special prize. In addition to the cash prizes, the two winning studios will also receive mentorship and financial counsel from Ubisoft and National Bank.
Astrolabe is a multidisciplinary game studio located in Montreal. The studio specializes in developing video games, board games, gamification services, and other creative projects. Founded in 2018, the studio promotes inclusion, diversity, and creativity and has created a wide array of projects.
The Ubisoft Indie Series supports and promotes creativity, leadership, diversity, and entrepreneurship in the video game industry. The winners were selected by a jury of Ubisoft experts in game design, narrative, accessibility, programming, art, and marketing.
The Indie Series 2023 was a great year, where we got to see the creativity and entrepreneurship of the Quebec industry at work! We were wowed by the passion of all 10 finalists, making it difficult to choose between them. Congratulations to Astrolabe Interactive on winning the grand prize for the game Aloft. They created an exciting universe with game mechanics that will make people want to spend hours playing! We also really appreciated their optimistic approach, which is really refreshing in this day and age.”
– Julien Laferrière, senior producer, Ubisoft Montreal and jury president for the Montreal competition.
National Bank special prize winner: Lucid Dreams Studio
Lucid Dreams Studio is a Canadian independent game developer founded in 2017 and member of the Indie Asylum. The first title, Legends of Ethernal, was released on October 30, 2020, and published by Natsume. It was released on Steam, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Switch. Lucid Dreams Studio is a team of 12 from different nationalities and identities.
Three years in and I’m still impressed by the creativity of the projects, both visually and technically. What makes me even happier is to see applications that come with a structured business strategy, a realistic financial plan, and a concern for their human resources. Lucid Dreams had all of this, and the gender parity at the studio won us over. ”
– Dominique Champagne, National Bank
Supporting Quebec and Ontario’s Entrepreneurs
The Ubisoft Indie Series presented by National Bank is a Canadian initiative under Ubisoft Entrepreneurs, a program that supports the growth of local entrepreneurs in the technology and entertainment industries through mentorship, expertise, grants, and funding.
Again this year, Quebec’s independent studios proved their creativity through innovative and ground-breaking projects. They also demonstrated why Quebec is still a world leader in the video game industry. Ubisoft Entrepreneurs is proud to support the Quebec video game industry,” Olivier Delisle, Entrepreneur Accelerator director.
– Olivier Delisle, Entrepreneur Accelerator director.
This year’s shortlisted studios included Squido Studio, 2 Igloos, WoodRunner Games Inc., A Little Smarter, Flying Carpets Games, Soliton Interactive, Lucid Dreams Studio, Triple Boris, Astrolabe Interactive Inc., and Vidvad Games.
The grand finale took place on February 23rd at the Bernard-Landry room in the Ubisoft Montreal offices. Guests, experts and members of the industry were present to encourage the finalists and celebrate the winners.
Since the Quebec program launched in 2016, there have been 15 winners and $525,000 in cash prizes given out.
For updates on the Indie Series in Quebec and other programs and initiatives by Ubisoft Entrepreneurs, follow Ubisoft Montréal on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
