In the extremely competitive world of multimedia software and gaming, where thousands of companies get lost in the mix, one outfit is very quietly working its way into the software spotlight, Ubi Soft.

Ubi Soft has been effectively making deals and key licensing agreements that will undoubtedly pay off as the years unfold.

The mission of Ubi Soft is to be one of the top five multimedia software publishers in the world by 2005. And if you are skeptical as to whether it can, please be advised that it has already cracked the top 20.

Ubi Soft was founded in France by five brothers, the Guillemots, in 1986. Over the years, it has set up shop in San Francisco, Tokyo, London, New York and Montreal. There are currently 16 different Ubi Soft locations throughout the world.

The Montreal office is one of the company’s newest operations. Having just opened its doors two years ago it is already home to 400 employees. vp and gm Sabine Hamelin says the field she has chosen to work in is rewarding in many different ways.

‘Multimedia is a very interesting area to work in,’ Hamelin says. ‘The economy is very big so your company can grow rapidly, and it’s a very active world so [rapid growth] is normal.’

Ubi Soft describes itself as a distributor, producer and publisher of interactive software. The company as a whole distributes 1,200 products to 55 countries and has more than 1,500 employees worldwide.

Much of Ubi Soft’s success comes from making lucrative, long-term licensing agreements and mergers with other big-name companies. For example, Ubi Soft recently signed a long-term licensing agreement with Disney Interactive for a series of interactive adventure games featuring popular Disney characters (Donald Duck is a name that’s been mentioned).

Also, Ubi Soft recently inked a deal with Warner Bros. Interactive to produce software based on the animated series The Adventures of Batman and Robin.

Hamelin says Ubi Soft is acutely aware of the importance of getting the company’s name out there on products with established, time-tested characters. ‘Before video games were for hobbyists,’ she says. ‘Now it’s mass market and we aim more for families. Disney and Warner Bros., they are good brand names to market for.’

Another coup for the company is a five-year licensing agreement that Ubi Soft recently signed with Suzuki Alstare Racing. Suzuki, based in Japan, will be featured as the subject of the first motorcycle racing game for the new Dreamcast system, thanks to its friends at Ubi Soft.

Another key development and distribution deal was recently made with Les Editions Dupuis for games and entertainment software featuring television characters Papyrus and Spirou. The first of these games, Papyrus – The Curse of Seth, will be available for pc users later in October.

Ubi Soft has also signed a licensing agreement with Gaumont Multimedia to release Stupid Invaders for pcs, Macs and Dreamcast. The game is slated for release towards the end of the year.

‘For Ubi Soft, it is very important to be in partnership with major companies in motion pictures, in toys, in audiovisual and in the comic book industries,’ Hamelin says. ‘These acquisitions of major licences increase our portfolio.’

Ubi Soft has also had a great deal of success with one of its own creations, Rayman. The original Rayman game sold a reported 4.2 million copies worldwide, with a sequel game, Rayman 2, coming soon. Also in the works is a Rayman animated television series, expected out in fall 2000.

Hamelin insists that the success of Ubi Soft, despite the mergers and big-time licensing deals, is thanks to the state-of-the-art software and equipment the company maintains, and the highly skilled individuals that program and run it.

‘We try to reach the very highest level for the technology we use and we are searching for very high quality as far as the creativity in the different areas like music, image, design and so on,’ says Hamelin. ‘We have very specialized people working in all different areas of technology and creativity, and we master all of the steps from the conception to the distribution of the video game. That allows us to be close to the consumer and close to the creativity as well.’