Established end of 2006, the studio has a team of 120 developers and testers who will initially focus on porting titles to handheld consoles and reinforcing Ubisoft s testing teams. The goal is to become 200-developpers strong in 12 months time and to reach a team of 500 in the coming years.
Known as the "Oxford of the East", Pune s extensive university system (one of the largest in Asia) sees 80 000 engineers graduate each year. This satellite city of Mumbai (Bombay) is part of the 2nd generation of India s techno-poles, and is considered one of the most pleasant cities to live in the country.
"Following on the recent announcement of our new Singapore studio, this acquisition will reinforce Ubisoft s presence in Asia and the southeast region in particular. India has a promising future in the videogame industry and this is an opportunity for us to establish ourselves in the country," stated Christine Burgess-Quémard, executive director, worldwide studios at Ubisoft.
The operation is subject to normal closing conditions and is expected to close during the first quarter of the 2008-09 fiscal year.