A game designer works on modeling characters from the video game “Assassin’s Creed Mirage” at the Ubisoft studio in Bordeaux, October 3, 2023 (AFP/Christophe ARCHAMBAULT)
World capital of wine, Bordeaux has become a stronghold of French video games, as evidenced by the release on Thursday of the final chapter of the “Assassin’s Creed” saga, developed for the first time in Ubisoft’s local studios.
The story begins in 1990 with the founding of the Kalisto studio, which produced the first “made in Bordeaux” video games on computers and consoles.
“Silicon Valley, Apple, Microsoft, that attracted me. I said to myself ‘Why not do that in my immediate environment'”, explains its founder Nicolas Gaume, now 52 years old, to AFP.
A graphic designer adds the final elements of a plan for the video game “Assassin’s Creed Mirage” in the Ubisoft studio in Bordeaux, October 3, 2023 (AFP/Christophe ARCHAMBAULT)
Kalisto creates his own games (“Dark Earth”, “Nightmare Creatures”) and collaborates with Namco or Gaumont to develop and adapt original games like “Pac in Time” (1995) or “The Fifth Element” (1997).
Building on these global successes, Nicolas Gaume entered the stock market in 1999 to compete with the biggest studios, but “the explosion of the internet bubble” the following year led to its sudden liquidation.
The Gironde entrepreneur converted to the space industry but 12 of his 320 employees continued the adventure by founding Asobo in 2002.
– Trophies galore –
“Kalisto is a base that sowed seeds of “studios” in the city, in the region,” said Asobo’s director of operations, Gregory Carreau, also citing Motion Twins and Shiro Games.
Asobo stands out thanks to its multiple awards and commercial successes.
In 2007, his adaptation of the film “Ratatouille”, in collaboration with Pixar, sold more than 2.5 million copies, encouraging other entertainment heavyweights (Disney, Fox, Universal) to trust him.
In 2016, Microsoft entrusted him with the development of the 15th episode of its flight simulator “Flight Simulator” which was voted best French video game in 2021 at the second edition of the Pégases, the equivalent of the Césars.
A year earlier, Asobo had won six trophies for “A Plague Tale: Innocence” mixing survival, Hundred Years War and Black Death. Its sequel, “A Plague Tale: Requiem”, will exceed one million players in two weeks in 2022.
Technical expertise, artistic quality and narrative creativity: these games concentrate all the ingredients for the success of Bordeaux, which has become one of the national bastions of the sector alongside Paris, Lyon and Montpellier.
A status reinforced in 2017 by the establishment of a studio of the French industry giant, Ubisoft – present in around fifty countries with more than 45 branches and subsidiaries.
Julien Mayeux, general director of the Bordeaux branch of the video game studio Ubisoft, October 3, 2023 in Bordeaux (AFP/Christophe ARCHAMBAULT)
Ubisoft “benefited from the history of video games in the city, the presence of art schools and engineering schools and the ecosystem in terms of animation in Angoulême”, explains the general director of the Bordeaux branch, Julien Mayeux.
Added to this in 2017 is the “arrival of the LGV”, and a “very strong attractiveness of the city” to “attract talent” from around the world.
– Specialized schools –
With the delivery of new premises at the end of the year, this studio will become the largest (7,500 m2 surface area) of the company in France.
He is already the first in France to have led the development of an episode of the cult license “Assassin’s Creed”, launched in 2007, after having co-developed the previous one, “Assassin’s Creed Valhalla” (2020).
“Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a return to basics for the 15th anniversary of the license,” continues Julien Mayeux, who manages more than 420 employees. “It’s a great opportunity to put ourselves on the map of the biggest studios in the world, we’re playing it to the fullest.”
Costume of a character from the video game “Assassin’s Creed Mirage” during an exhibition in Bordeaux, October 3, 2023 (AFP/Christophe ARCHAMBAULT)
In New Aquitaine, the sector represents “more than 100 million euros in turnover and represents more than 1,000 full-time jobs”, according to Marie-Charlotte Ynesta, general delegate of SO·Games, the regional association of video game professionals.
In Gironde, the studios benefit from a workforce trained on site in several specialized schools.
The time “where we were alone, we learned on the job out of passion” is over, warns David Jarnage, the director of the Horde, whose first class will graduate at the end of 2024.
“Video games require a lot of demands in terms of artistic quality. It is punctuated by rules that are known at your fingertips,” insists his Artside counterpart, Florian Devos.
Created in 2020, Artside claims 96% hired upon its release.
© 2023 AFP
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