Expansion Announcement Comes in Conjunction with the Kick-Off of Ubisoft Developers Conference
On the opening of the Ubisoft Developers Conference (UDC), Ubisoft announced the expansion of “La Forge”, its successful R&D model, to several studios around the world, with teams now operating in Canada (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Toronto), China (Ubisoft Chengdu, Ubisoft Shanghai) and France (Ubisoft Bordeaux). The UDC conference, Ubisoft’s annual gathering dedicated to technological innovation in video games production, runs from February 21 to 25 and features a dedicated track on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, two of La Forge’s key research areas.
Acting as a bridge between academic research and video games production, La Forge combines Ubisoft’s assets and data with the expertise of university researchers to drive innovation forward in the video game industry, while contributing to solving real-world problems through scientific publications.
After five years of exploration and experimentation, Yves Jacquier, Executive Director of Ubisoft La Forge, reflects on the expansion of the La Forge network and emphasizes its strategic role for the future, saying, “Our goal is to continue to grow while preserving our DNA: providing Ubisoft with in-depth knowledge on the disruptive technologies that empower our teams to deliver unique and immersive experiences, through responsible, people-centric development.”
Historically based in Ubisoft Montreal, La Forge is accelerating the international implementation of a unique collaborative model that has become a leading reference in research and development in the video games industry. With more than 70 prototypes – 30 of which have already been integrated into production technologies – and more than 25 major scientific publications, La Forge now represents the majority of the group’s technological R&D activities with the ambition to help create increasingly realistic worlds, support game creators and develop high-performance tools that will improve the experience of players.
Renowned for the quality of its program and leveraging first-rate partnerships with prestigious universities, La Forge has already demonstrated Ubisoft’s technological leadership in the industry through innovations that shape the future of games and how they are made. These include solutions like “Choreograph”, an animation technology invented by Ubisoft that enables widespread motion-matching to make character movements more natural and intelligent, notably used in Far Cry 6®; “FaceShifter”, a solution that assists creators in the automatic generation of ultra-realistic faces for non-playable characters; and “SmartNav”, which enables non-playable characters to move exactly as players would.
Privileged access to Ubisoft’s resources, multidisciplinary teams, and La Forge’s successful model for applied research that advances the work of thousands of developers around the world, are all key assets which attract experts in cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence, coming from different backgrounds.
Ubisoft La Forge is constantly looking for new members to join its teams, and anyone interested can apply by visiting Ubisoft.com’s career site.
For more information about Ubisoft La Forge, please visit La Forge’s website and discover research projects on their official Youtube channel.
