The next edition of the Indie Camp is right around the corner so it’s time to light up the fire pitch again! Oh, you’re curious about our last trip? Worry not, our last participants are happy to share some insights!

1. The first Indie Camp – What a ride! How did you enjoy your trip with Ubisoft?

It was incredibly valuable to us to gather the opinions of industry veterans on our game, our way to convey it to third parties and our core mechanic. The excitement and potential of the awards stream was an absolute blast.

2. What did you expect when you first applied?

Nothing really, just an opportunity to get the word out for Sonority. We got way more out of it than we expected and are glad we applied.

Ralf Neubauer – Producer

3. What would have winning meant for your game and company?

The opportunity to finally work together again after Covid took that away from us, would’ve been amazing. Especially working so close to Ubisoft employees could have helped us merge the energy and rich ideas of an indie project with the consummate professionalism of an experienced AAA company.

4. How did things change for you in the meantime? Anything you’re looking forward to?

Since then we have been working hard to push Sonority to be ready for its release early 2022, our new demo even has the first finished VO implemented.

5. And lastly: Do you have any advice for indies who’d like to apply to the next Indie Camp edition?

It’s a cool experience and great way to meet other developers. The application process and follow-up questions/requests are time consuming but interesting and thought provoking along the way.  If you have some spare hours, just shoot your shot.

More information about Sonority here.

The next edition of the Indie Camp is right around the corner so it’s time to light up the fire pitch again! Oh, you’re curious about our last trip? Worry not, our last participants are happy to share some insights!

1. The first Indie Camp – What a ride! How did you enjoy your trip with Ubisoft?

It was an awesome journey and a great experience for us. We’re honored and proud to have been nominated among the finalists of the first Ubisoft Indie Camp with our game, Monorail Stories.

2. What did you expect when you first applied?

We didn’t know exactly what to expect, but we were certainly very interested in the mentorship program. That’s because we always want to evolve, learn and

improve and with our previous experience we’ve learned that having real help from someone who has already experience in the field is very important.

Founder and co-owner Stefano Maccarinelli, his wife and co-owner Tania Maccarinelli as well as their daughter

3. What would have winning meant for your game and company?

Of course it would have been great, but just being among the finalists makes us realize that the game we are developing has great potential.

4. How did things change for you in the meantime? Anything you’re looking forward to?

In the meantime we have talked to many publishers and we are finally about to sign a contract for Monorail Stories. This will allow us to reach the quality level we were aiming for at the beginning of the project. It will still be a long way but we are doing it with great enthusiasm and dedication.

5. And lastly: Do you have any advice for indies who’d like to apply to the next Indie Camp edition?

I have only positive things to say about this experience. So, what are you waiting for? Apply now, you won’t regret! 🙂

More about Stelex Software here.

The next edition of the Indie Camp is right around the corner so it’s time to light up the fire pitch again! Oh, you’re curious about our last trip? Worry not, our last participants are happy to share some insights!

1. The first Indie Camp – What a ride! How did you enjoy your trip with Ubisoft?

It was an emotional ride indeed! Since the Indie Camp application and award took place before the early access release, we were in active contact with Ubisoft during a very exciting and sometimes tense period of Dorfromantiks development. We were of course not sure that our launch would go well and were working hard to hopefully gain enough attention for our project. We are very thankful for the help and the opportunity to learn from experienced professionals and enjoyed it a lot!

2. What did you expect when you first applied?

To be honest, we didn’t expect to win but instead thought that applying would be a fantastic way to hone our pitching skills and really engage with how to showcase and describe our game, and which aspects to focus on. We also thought that taking part would allow us to network in the indie and game development scene here in Germany which we deemed a valuable opportunity. Of course the winning prizes / rewards were a great motivation too

Zwi Zausch – Co-Founder, Tech-Artist, Game Designer

3. What did winning mean for your game and company?

Winning the Ubisoft Indie Camp definitely had a big impact on Dorfromantik and our company. As mentioned above, we were able to improve our approach on pitching and presentation. Ubisoft supported us in form of business development mentoring, marketing shoutouts on social media and streaming platforms. We also got a booth in the Indie Arena at Gamescom 2021, which, although fully digital due to the pandemic, was a fantastic experience. Another service we might be able to use later towards our full release is a professional QA testing facility, which is an exciting new experience waiting for us.

4. How did things change for you in the meantime? Anything you’re looking forward to?

Well we’ve gained a very active community which keeps us busy with many requested features! So for now we’re lazer focused on improving the game

and the new the creative mode and bringing the promised content updates to Dorfromantik to get everything ready for the upcoming full release in the beginning of 2022. Also we’re looking forward to hopefully bringing the game to more platforms…

5. And lastly: Do you have any advice for indies who’d like to apply to the next Indie Camp edition?

Yes of course! What worked really well for us is to ask for feedback early on in the development, optimally directly when you’re putting together the first mechanics and prototypes. Evaluating this feedback helped us to choose a feasible project/prototype to continue with. Additionally we tried to think about marketing as an engrained part of development, which then dictates how you go about your daily tasks. We tried to have a presentable build of the game ready all the time to be able to create shareable content early on. This also improves your skills in presenting and describing the game. This helped us a lot when we Dorfromantik started to get more attention and then later towards the Early Access release.

Learn more about Toukana Interactive here.

Today, Ubisoft announced its participation at Indie Arena Booth Online 2021, which takes place during the digital gamescom & devcom event from August 23 to 29. Ubisoft will showcase 7 indie studios from the United States, Canada, Germany and Austria via the Ubisoft Entrepreneurs virtual booth.

From August 23-25 the Indie Studios will get the chance to showcase their projects exclusively to business partners and media. From August 25-29, starting with the end of the Opening Night Live, the virtual booth will be accessible for everyone for free at https://indiearenabooth.de/

The line-up contains:

Ubisoft Entrepreneurs is an exclusive gateway to Ubisoft’s expertise and local and international networks. Through various programs, Ubisoft Entrepreneurs provides mentorship from internal experts, partnerships with Ubisoft brands and ecosystem, and venture capital. Ubisoft wants to explore with entrepreneurs opportunities that will shape the future of entertainment.

“After the very positive feedback from last year, we are thrilled to have these talented Indie teams with us at one of the largest gaming events in the world to showcase their amazing creations. We hope this will bring them many opportunities to help further move forward with their projects”, says Francis Baillet, VP Corporate Affairs at Ubisoft. “This is precisely what initiatives like Ubisoft Entrepreneurs and our Open Innovation Accelerator program are for, and we are committed to share our experience and bring support to innovative and exciting projects that are created by young talents around the globe.”

Indie Teams from Germany and Austria are part of the Ubisoft Entrepreneurs GSA (Berlin, Düsseldorf, Mainz) initiative. Toukana Interactive with Dorfromantik was the winner of the Indie Camp 2021 while Forbidden Folds with WHALIEN won the Newcomer Award of the Deutsche Entwicklerpreis (German Developer Award) which is sponsored by Ubisoft.

From Canada, Ubisoft Entrepreneurs brings 4 Indie Teams to the Indie Arena Booth Online as part of Ubisoft Entrepreneurs Quebec (Montreal, Saguenay and Quebec) and Ubisoft Entrepreneurs Ontario (Toronto).

Watcha Games with Sea Raiders and Clever Plays with Operation: Tango both took part in La Caravane Virtuelle – On the Road to International Expansion. This annual event, which runs in Quebec, is set up by Ubisoft, La Guilde du jeu vidéo du Québec and Québec EPIX, with the collaboration of The Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal and Investissement Québec International.

Mermaid Heavy Industries and Killjoy Games are, respectively, the 2021 Grand Prize and Special Prize winners of the Ubisoft Indie Series presented by National Bank in Ontario.

Twin Otter Studios from the USA are supported by Ubisoft’s Open Innovation Accelerator which is a brand-new initiative to connect and share development experiences and expertise with whiz kids – young developers with huge potential – and innovative creators in the video game industry. A team of dedicated scouts tries to anticipate the trends and spot innovative new actors in order to forge mutually beneficial partnerships.

About Ubisoft Entrepreneurs

Ubisoft Entrepreneurs encompasses Ubisoft initiatives toward startups.

• Ubisoft Entrepreneurs Quebec contributes to the global rise of local entrepreneurs in Quebec’s techno-creative industry. It acts at every creative and development stage of a company through mentorship and expertise, grants and funding, networking with Ubisoft teams in Quebec and around the world.
• Ubisoft Entrepreneurs GSA is supporting video game developers in Germany, Switzerland and Austria through their annual Ubisoft Newcomer Award and Indie Camp initiatives.
• Ubisoft Indie Series is an initiative of Ubisoft Entrepreneurs. It’s an annual competition for independent game development studios, offering cash prizes, mentorship from Ubisoft experts to help with development. Ubisoft Indie Series exists in Ontario and Quebec

About Ubisoft Open Innovation Accelerator

The Open Innovation Accelerator team is a brand-new initiative to connect and share development experiences and expertise with innovative players in the video game industry. The team of dedicated scouts tries to anticipate the trends and spot innovative new actors in order to forge mutually beneficial partnerships. Sharing innovative content stemming from our partners to widen the Ubisoft mindset and help our teams imagine even more creative experiences, we work with indie developers as we believe Ubisoft can learn from these smaller creators to stay ahead of the curve and satisfy our players with best-in-class games.

About Indie Arena Booth Online 2021

The Indie Arena Booth, operated by SuperCrowd, is an open home for independent game developers from all over the world. It is a platform for the developers as well as a showcase for the colorful and vivid game scene between Avantgarde and AAA. Starting as a small hand-made exhibition space for indie developers at gamescom in 2013, Indie Arena Booth has since grown to become the place to be at gamescom for hundreds of fresh indie games. Our intention is to give games of all sizes a platform to be presented to the audience of gamescom, supporting local as well as international developers.

Today, Ubisoft announced that Derek Patterson is the new studio manager of Ubisoft Berlin, effective immediately. He is taking over the management of the studio, which was founded in Berlin-Charlottenburg in 2018, and will report to Benedikt Grindel, Managing Director of Ubisoft’s German studios.

Derek Patterson has been working at Ubisoft Berlin since 2019, working as Production Director for Far Cry 6, an international co-production between several Ubisoft Studios under the direction of Ubisoft Toronto. He is taking over following the departure of Istvan Tajnay, who took over  management of Ubisoft Toronto  in February, 2021.

Derek is a native of Scotland, where he received a Master’s degree in Classical History from the University of Glasgow. Before joining Ubisoft, Derek Patterson worked in various project management positions at games development studios such as Rockstar North, CD Project Red and Techland: “Ubisoft Berlin is a young, talented and motivated development studio that has established itself in a short time and has already made contributions to major Ubisoft games. I’m looking forward to the challenge of helping shape the future of Ubisoft Berlin as we continue to grow in both size and ambition,” says Derek.

“With Derek Patterson, someone is taking over Ubisoft Berlin who not only has international AAA experience, but also knows the studio and its employees very well,” said Benedikt Grindel. “These are exciting times for Ubisoft Berlin, as Far Cry 6, the studio’s first game, will launch this October. In the future, we can look forward to many more international productions being developed in Berlin. ”

Ubisoft Berlin currently has nearly 150 employees working on major Ubisoft games, including Far Cry 6, which will be released on October 7, 2021, and the pirate adventure Skull & Bones. The focus in Berlin is on the international co-production of big titles. Ubisoft Berlin is part of the German Ubisoft studio network, which consists of over 700 employees. In addition to Berlin, there are two other studios in Germany: Ubisoft Düsseldorf, led by Benedikt Grindel and Ubisoft Mainz, led by Thomas Pottkämper.

Today, Ubisoft announced its participation at Indie Arena Booth Online 2020, which takes place during the digital gamescom event from August 27^th to 30^th. Ubisoft will showcase 13 indie studios from Canada and Germany via the Ubisoft Entrepreneurs virtual booth.

With Ubisoft Entrepreneurs, Ubisoft supports techno-creative start-ups and initiatives in and around the gaming and entertainment industries worldwide. Founded in 2017, Ubisoft Entrepreneurs has supported hundreds of indie studios in learning exchanges, equity, funding and access to resources. For this digital edition, winners from the 2019 and 2020 editions of the Ubisoft Indie Series in Ontario will present their work. The Ubisoft Indie Series in Ontario and Quebec is an annual competition for independent game development studios, offering cash prizes, mentorship from Ubisoft experts to help with development and personalized financial diagnosis. GLOAM won the 2019 edition with their turn-based battle game Bravery Network Online to be released this year on Steam. The 2020 winner Vivid Foundry© studio impressed the Ubisoft judges with their creative and visually polished game Solace State, scheduled to be launched in 2021 on PC.

The German winner of the Newcomer Award 2019 in the category “Best Start-Up”, Rivers and Wine Studios, will also introduce their portfolio at the Indie Arena Booth. The Newcomer Award in Germany has been sponsored by Ubisoft since 2013 and is awarded annually as part of the “Deutsche Entwicklerpreis” (German Developer Award).

“We’re dedicated to sharing our own experience to benefit up-and-coming techno-creative companies and are convinced that thriving indie developers are an essential part of the video game ecosystem,” said Karsten Lehmann, Public Affairs Director at Ubisoft German Studios. Ubisoft is a huge fan of the work being done by these indie developers, and we are extremely proud to support indie studios by showcasing their amazing work at the first Indie Arena Booth Online.”

Indie Arena Booth is the biggest shared developer booth in the world, recognized for its commitment to indie games. The initiative offers opportunities for independent game developers to showcase their games by attending multiple conventions.

Apart from the Indie Arena Booth, Ubisoft Entrepreneurs contributes to the global rise of entrepreneurs in Canada, France, Germany and Singapore, including – mentorship and expertise, grants and funding, and networking with Ubisoft teams around the world. In July, Ubisoft Entrepreneurs also collaborated on the third edition of The Caravan, an initiative in support of independent video game studios in Quebec where 10 indie studios have been selected to be featured on the Ubisoft Entrepreneurs space at the Indie Arena Booth:

• Aethernaut from Dragon Slumber,
• Time Drifters from Studio Lonely boy,
• “Sea Raiders” project from Watcha Games,
• Dum Dum Dinos from Youtouch,
• Mad Experiments: Escape Room from PlayTogether Studio,
• Operation: Tango from Studio Clever Plays,
• Knight Squad 2 from Chainsawesome Games,
• Shishi : Ballad of the Oracle from Shishi Studios,
• BOAA: Baku from Illuminia Studios
• Aeolis Tournament from Beyond Fun Studio.

For more information, please visit: https://bluebyte.ubisoft.com/en/our-engagements/entrepreneurs/ , https://toronto.ubisoft.com/indieseries/ and https://montreal.ubisoft.com/en/our-engagements/entrepreneurs/mentorship/indie-series/

COLOGNE, GERMANY — August 20, 2019 — Today at gamescom, Ubisoft® announced that the two German Ubisoft Blue Byte studios will become Ubisoft Düsseldorf and Ubisoft Mainz, in order to highlight the local teams behind the international success of franchises like The Settlers™ and Anno™, and to aid in recruiting top talent as the studios look to rapidly expand. Ubisoft Blue Byte will remain the legal umbrella company for all German studios.

“We want our three studios in Berlin, Düsseldorf and Mainz to forge and further grow their own local identities as our overall workforce in Germany could soon double in size”, says Benedikt Grindel, Managing Director of Ubisoft German studios. “We see the potential to grow to more than 1,000 developers by the end of 2023. We have very ambitious plans for our existing and future projects and are looking for creative talents from all areas of game development.”

Founded in 1988 and acquired by Ubisoft in 2001, Ubisoft Blue Byte is one of the pioneers of game development in Germany. With games like Battle Isle and The Settlers, Blue Byte became known as strategy experts and in 2007 the Anno series joined the studio as well. Its dedicated work and talented teams led the studios to now work on some of Ubisoft’s most successful and internationally acclaimed games. While Ubisoft Düsseldorf is leading the development of The Settlers and the VR escape room Beyond Medusa’s Gate, Ubisoft Mainz oversees Anno 1800, the fastest-selling Anno game to date. The three German studios also collaborate on several projects within the Ubisoft group such as Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege or Beyond Good and Evil 2.

Besides games, the German Ubisoft studios are also supporting the local and national games industry with initiatives like Ubisoft Education, the Ubisoft Newcomer Award and the Ubisoft Gaming School.

For more information about the German Ubisoft studios and all open job positions, please visit Ubisoft Düsseldorf, Mainz and Berlin’s websites.

About Ubisoft Düsseldorf

Ubisoft Düsseldorf is home to diverse teams dedicated to deliver AAA excellence and innovation across a wide portfolio of games and technologies. The studio is the leading developer behind beloved games like The Settlers and the innovative VR escape room experience Beyond Medusa’s Gate. As renowned co-developers within the Ubisoft group, Ubisoft Düsseldorf contributes to high-profile projects such as Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege and Uplay. More information at duesseldorf.ubisoft.com.

About Ubisoft Mainz

The teams at Ubisoft Mainz are engineering Ubisoft’s biggest blockbusters. Operating from a historic city in the heartland of Germany, the studio develops genre pushing games like the acclaimed Anno 1800 and lends decades of expertise to AAA co-development projects like Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege and the upcoming Beyond Good And Evil 2. More information at mainz.ubisoft.com.

About Ubisoft Berlin

Ubisoft Berlin opened in early 2018 with a focus on co-development of big Ubisoft brands, starting with none other than the Far Cry series. The cosmopolitan team at Ubisoft Berlin is dedicated to delivering inspiring and meaningful game experiences that will empower players and make them feel part of the Far Cry community to make it “the place to be” for fans of open-world shooters. More information at berlin.ubisoft.com.

About Ubisoft

Ubisoft is a leading creator, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and services, with a rich portfolio of world-renowned brands, including Assassin’s Creed, Just Dance, Tom Clancy’s video game series, Rayman, Far Cry and Watch Dogs. The teams throughout Ubisoft’s worldwide network of studios and business offices are committed to delivering original and memorable gaming experiences across all popular platforms, including consoles, mobile phones, tablets and PCs. For the 2018-19 fiscal year Ubisoft generated Net Bookings of €2,029 million. To learn more, please visit ubisoft.com.