I Am Alive, the next title from celebrated Assassin's Creed producer Jade Raymond, was formally announced at an Ubisoft press event today.

Described as an "edgy new survival-adventure," the title is due out on current generation systems--likely PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360--next spring. No developer was named in today's announcement, though it had previously been rumored that Cold Fear veterans Darkworks were handling the game.

"When Chicago is left in ruins and the cause of the devastation is unknown, players will be challenged to think, react and take risks that will directly affect themselves and those around them," wrote publisher Ubisoft. Shackvideo users can use the HD Stream.

Video game publisher Ubisoft today announced its acquisition of Hybride Technologies, the studio behind the stylish visual effects of the 300 and Sin City films.

Under Ubisoft, Hybride will continue its work with film while "bringing its expertise to leverage Ubisoft's intellectual properties for the movie industry." The two will also work together in developing tools for video game and visual effects production, with a goal of cinema-quality game visuals.

Video game properties held by Ubisoft include the medieval murder simulator Assassin's Creed, the military-themed Tom Clancy brand, the Far Cry open-world shooting franchise, and the story-driven Beyond Good & Evil adventure games along with the Rayman platforming series and its mini-game-driven Raving Rabbids offshoot.

Last year, Ubisoft opened a studio dedicated to the production of... Read more

Ubisoft and Mac developer TransGaming have partnered to release Ubisoft-published games on Mac, the two companies have announced.

Initial offerings will include ports of Ubisoft's pet simulators Catz and Dogz, along with Telltale's CSI-themed adventure effort Hard Evidence. Other titles were not disclosed, though some Ubisoft PC games due out this fall would hit Mac simultaneously.

Ubisoft PC titles due this fall include the open-world shooter Far Cry 2 and the air combat effort Tom Clancy's HAWX.

Specializing in PC-to-Mac ports through its Cider technology, TransGaming works with multiple developers. Recent and upcoming Mac efforts handled by the company include CCP's space MMO EVE Online and EA Maxis' evolution simulator Spore.

Ubisoft has officially revealed Prince of Persia: The Fallen King, the previously announced Nintendo DS edition of its platformer series reboot.

Taking a cue from its PC and console counterparts, The Fallen King features an art style similar to the illustrative look employed in the upcoming console titles, and utilizes stylus controls to bring the familiar acrobatic combat action to the handheld.

As part of a story closely tied to the upcoming console titles, The Fallen King introduces a second playable character called the Magus. Players can switch between the two characters to utilize their unique abilities and progress through the various stages in the game.

As with the new Prince of Persia's PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 incarnations, The Fallen King is scheduled to arrive at retailers this holiday season.

Publisher Ubisoft has announced a new Wii-exclusive division called Play Zone, a brand dedicated to creating new party games and mini-game compilation titles. The company revealed the first Play Zone-branded title as Sports Party, due out next month.

"With our new Play Zone party titles, the Wii gamers who like to spend time with friends and family will have fun with the Wii through innovative and involving mini-games," said Ubisoft EMEA marketing director John Parkes. "The Play Zone label will provide them with the best games to mingle and compete together in a fun and friendly atmosphere."

Developed by Destineer, Sports Party includes nine games that can be played competitively or cooperatively using the Wii Remote's gesture-based controls. The roster of activities includes croquet, lawn darts, mini-golf and several others.

Several analysts have suggested that publisher Ubisoft may be a possible suitor for Take-Two as the company fields buyout and merger proposals.

According to a Forbes report, Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick said in a quarterly earnings call last week that the company "had and continues to have formal discussions with interested parties," but did not specify further who the parties might be.

The report points to Ubisoft as a possible candidate, noting that the Prince of Persia publisher's rapid growth and expansion to mediums beyond gaming make it a good fit for Take-Two's properties, which include Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto series and 2K Games' BioShock.

"Ubisoft has shown they do a good job of managing original intellectual property," said Cowen and Co. analyst Doug Creutz. "Culturally, Take-Two developers ... Read more

On the heels of Capcom's franchise sales outing, Ubisoft has followed suit by releasing a list of its best-selling properties, allowing for an interesting peek into the publishing giant's records.

Official Ubisoft mascot Rayman tops the list with an impressive 22 million units sold, according to GamesIndustry.biz. Created by designer Michel Ancel in 1995, the original Rayman platformer sold over 10 million copies on PlayStation. The yellow-haired character has since gone on to star in over a dozen games.

Unsurprisingly, Tom Clancy IP dominates the chart, with the Rainbow Six, Splinter Cell and Ghost Recon titles accounting for a combined 55 million units sold.

Assassin's Creed rings in at an impressive 6 million sold, while the Petz franchise accounts for a staggering 13 million units. Check out the full list below.

1. Rayman: 22 million units sold

2. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: 20 million units sold

3. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: 19 million units sold... Read more

Ubisoft today announced the development of Beyond Good and Evil 2, and debuted a trailer for the title at its UbiDays 2008 event in Paris today. The company also released a teaser trailer and a trio of screenshots.

The title, a sequel to Ubisoft Montpellier's 2003 sleeper hit, is will be helmed by series creator Michel Ancel. The original Beyond Good and Evil featured Zelda-like action adventure gameplay realized in a unique and complicated world, a lighthearted plot with heavy themes and a great sense of humor.

Though the game was released to critical acclaim, BG&E's sales suffered against several other high-profile Ubisoft releases of the day such as Prince of Persia: Sands of Time and Splinter Cell.

No release date has yet been announced by the publisher. Registered users can use the HD Stream

New gameplay and plot details for the recently announced new entry in Ubisoft's Prince of Persia series were unveiled in the latest issue of French magazine Joypad.

The game is said to create a more fantasy-like game and to bring a poetic vision to the series over the previous Sands of Time trilogy, with which the new title shares no direct connection. The title's cel-shaded visual styling and revamped gameplay scheme were adjusted according to this presentational revision.

"The previous trilogy mixed the Arabian Nights in with historical Persia," said creative director Jean-Christophe Guyot in a Eurogamer translation. "We decided we'd prefer to return to the tales of the Thousand and One Nights for something more colourful."

Guyot added that the game is "Zelda-esque, old school, with very contrasting levels," set against the plot of a cursed land that must be healed by defeating boss guardians. Much like Okami, defeating the bosses will transform the world in... Read more

Publisher Ubisoft today announced that it has opened a new internal development studio in Kiev, Ukraine, marking the company's third Eastern Europe studio.

The new Kiev studio will collaborate directly with Ubisoft's Bucharest, Romania studio on the PC version of Tom Clancy's HAWX (PC, PS3, X360).

"Having seen the potential demonstrated by the Sofia studio's first projects, it was only natural for us to pursue our expansion in [Eastern Europe] and attract a new pool of highly-skilled talents to the group," said Ubisoft worldwide studios director Christine Burgess-Quemard.

Following a 36% year-over-year sales increase in its 2007 fiscal year, Ubisoft announced that it would expand its worldwide workforce by over 900 workers in FY2008. The company plans to expand operations Singapore, India, and China, in addition to currently established development houses.

The next entry in the Prince of Persia franchise will arrive on PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS this holiday season, publisher Ubisoft has revealed.

According to the company, the title "is poised to rejuvenate the action-adventure genre in addition to introducing a brand-new illustrative art style."

It is being developed at Ubisoft Montreal, which was responsible for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (PC, PS2, Xbox, GCN, GBA) as well as the more recent Assassin's Creed (PC, PS3, X360, NDS).

Though series creator Jordan Mechner recently filed a trademark for "Prince of Persia Prodigy," no specific title was listed in today's announcement.

Ubisoft had previously mentioned the existence of a new Prince of Persia game in its financial documents, though nothing beyond a vague release timeframe was provided at that time.

Publisher Ubisoft plans to expand its workforce by over 900 employees by the end of March of next year, Next-Gen reports.

Executives at the company said in a quarterly conference call today that its workforce would be expanded considerably in Singapore, India, and China, in addition to currently established development houses.

"Five hundred will go to the new studios, but there will also be 400 coming into the established studios," said CEO Yves Guillemot.

The company noted that as of March 31, Ubisoft employed about 3,600 employees among its 18 studios in 13 different countries.

Ubisoft Montreal's Assassin's Creed (PC, PS3, X360) spearheaded a 36% boost in 2008 sales over last year, the company announced today.

Ubisoft's full-year sales for its 2007-2008 fiscal year totaled EUR 928M, or roughly $1.45B at current exchange rates, a 36.4% increase over last year's figure of EUR 680M / $1.02B. Fourth quarter sales were up 10%, clocking in at EUR 217M / $340.5M.

The company cited the performance of Ubisoft Montreal's Assassin's Creed for the boost in numbers, which it said sold over six million copies since launch. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (PC, PS3, X360) also added to Ubisoft's burgeoning moneypile, recording nearly two million units sold since it hit shelves in March.

Trademork reports that Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner has filed a trademark for Prince of Persia Prodigy, suggesting that the new Prince of Persia game due by March 2009 may carry that title.

Though the unnamed Mechner-written Prince of Persia film is currently in pre-production, the details of the trademark application indicate that the phrase only applies to "game software and electronic game programs."

Publisher Ubisoft has remained rather silent about the next Prince of Persia game. No platforms have been confirmed, with the company only noting that the title should arrive by the end of its current fiscal year.

Originally released on the Apple II, the platforming series was eventually reimagined by Ubisoft Montreal through a trilogy of releases for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube, with the latter title ported to the Wii and PSP as well.

A downloadable 2D remake of the original game was released via the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade last year.

French publisher and Tom Clancy brand owner Ubisoft announced today that it has entered into an agreement to purchase a development studio in Pune, India from mobile publisher Gameloft. The specific terms of the deal were not revealed.

According to Ubisoft, the studio will now focus on "porting titles to handheld consoles and reinforcing Ubisoft's testing teams."

At present, the studio has 120 employees, though the company hopes to bring that number to 200 across the next 12 months and 500 in the following years. The plans seem to mirror those of Ubisoft's recently opened branch in Chengdu.

"India has a promising future in the video game industry and this is an opportunity for us to establish ourselves in the country," stated Ubisoft executive director Christine Burgess-Quemard.

In an article that offers the game's first media, IGN reports that the previously untitled Ubisoft air combat game, announced last year, is Tom Clancy's HAWX.

HAWX is set during 2012, a time when the world has come to depend on private military companies, with the result being the development of a global conflict.

The game is set to feature over 50 different fighters, a single-player campaign that can be played in co-op mode with 4 people total, and a 16 player Versus mode. Also look for an "Enhanced Reality System," which is described as being similar to an assist system in a racing game; more freedom and control will be available to those who disable it, at the cost of higher difficulty.

Tom Clancy's HAWX is being developed by the Blazing Angels team at Ubisoft Romania, and is set for a fall release on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

This latest April Fools' Day gag comes as a collaborative effort between Konami and Ubisoft, who unveiled a video showcasing the epic crossover of Ubisoft Montreal's Assassin's Creed (PC, PS3, X360) and Kojima Productions' Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3).

Essentially a clip of Solid Snake lurking about a battlefield wearing the robes of Assassin's Creed lead Altair, the gag reel also unveils new gameplay footage of MGS4 in which Snake battles the Gekko, a bipedal tank.

Metal Gear Solid 4 will hit North American retailers on June 12.

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French publisher Ubisoft has revealed that it is latest publisher to make its PC titles available via Valve's digital distribution platform Steam, with the upcoming PC release of Assassin's Creed: Director's Cut Edition currently available for pre-purchase.

The stealth title Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell and Crytek's non-linear shooter Far Cry mark Ubisoft's initial offerings, with Far Cry priced at $9.95 and Splinter Cell going for $19.95. Both will sell at a 10% discount until April 8.

Over 40 titles will be eventually be available, including Tom Clancy games, the Heroes of Might & Magic series, the IL-2 Sturmovik collection and more, along with upcoming releases such as Far Cry 2. According to Valve, bundles packaging franchise entries together will be available in the coming weeks.

"Ubisoft will be delivering the largest library of titles available from any single publisher or developer to Steam," said Valve business development director Jason Holtman, director of business development at Valve.

"We look forward to working with Steam and continuing to strengthen our commitment to the PC gaming community with innovative products and wider distribution channels, added Ubisoft senior sales director Andy Swanson.

Publisher Ubisoft has revealed that, despite some technical complaints, it sold nearly 2 million copies of the Ubisoft Montreal-developed Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (PS3, X360) to retailers since its mid-March release.

According to the company, this marks a "better than expected" performance.

Prompted by the strong sales, Ubisoft has raised its sales target for the 2007-08 fiscal year to 920 million euros (roughly $1.43 billion). Total sales for the fiscal year were previously expected to be around 875 million euros (roughly $1.36 billion).

"2008 is off to be a record year for the videogame market and our games have performed remarkably well in this context," said Ubisoft president and CEO Yves Guillemot.

Following its purchase of the Tom Clancy name for all game-related properties, French publisher Ubisoft has revealed that it will be developing a Tom Clancy-branded massively multiplayer online game.

"We are ready and decide now to go for an MMO on the Clancy name," Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said in a conference call yesterday, according to Gamasutra.

It was not stated if if the MMO will be set within an existing Tom Clancy franchise, popular examples of which include Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell and Rainbow Six, or a new off-shoot.

Guillemot noted that Ubisoft had been considering a Tom Clancy MMO for some time, but had held off as it would have increased the company's annual royalty payments to Clancy. The company expects its purchase of the name to save at least 5 million euros (roughly $7.87M) a year in royalties.

"With the royalties we had, it was another barrier not to create the game, because the return on investment was diminished by that," Guillemot said.

While the CEO estimated that the MMO could cost up to $50 million to develop, he did not disclose specifics on target platforms, a release window, its genre, or the studio that will be working on the title.