Earlier this week, French publisher Ubisoft announced the acquisition of the Vancouver-based Action Pants Inc. While Ubisoft currently has studios in many other locations around the world, the acquisition will mark their first in-house development studio on the west coast of North America.

Ubisoft Executive Director of Worldwide Production Christine Burgess-Quemard stated that his company had been "looking closely at Vancouver for some time" and had wanted to "set up a presence" in one of the "industry's largest talent pools."According to Burgess-Quemard the decision to take on Action Pants Inc was "easy." Simon Andrews, one of the founders of Action Pants Inc., was in agreement, stating that they are "very excited about [the] opportunity" because both companies share similar values.

The first title planned for production will be a sports game developed specifically for the Wii, due out sometime in 2009. The new intellectual property established by that title will expand on the success Ubisoft found with their recent snowboarding franchise, Shaun White Snowboarding.

Created in 2006 by founders Nik Palmer, Simon Andrews, and Omar Al-Khafaji, Action Pants Inc. currently employs over 110 game developers. The company was rated one of British Columbia's Best Companies to Work For in 2007 and one of the province's Top Fifty Employers of 2008 and 2009.

UBISOFT® TAKES ON THE WEST COAST WITH NEW VANCOUVER-BASED STUDIO Acquires Action Pants Inc.

Paris, France – February 3, 2009 – Today Ubisoft announced it will be expanding its studio operations to Vancouver, BC, Canada through the acquisition of video game developer Action Pants Inc. This marks Ubisoft's first in-house development studio on the North American West Coast.

Established in 2006 by industry veterans Simon Andrews, Nik Palmer and Omar Al-Khafaji, Action Pants Inc. currently employs more than 110 video game developers. Based in the trendy Yaletown area, the studio was ranked as one of the province's Top 50 employers in 2008 and 2009, and among BC Business magazine's "Best Companies to work for in BC in 2007." 2009 will see the release of the studio's first title, a sports game developed exclusively for Wii™. This new intellectual property will expand upon Ubisoft's recent success in the sports genre with the Shaun White Snowboarding franchise.

"We have been looking closely at Vancouver for some time, as we wished to set up a presence in what is one of the industry's biggest talent pools," said Christine Burgess-Quemard, executive director of worldwide production studios at Ubisoft. "The creative talent at Action Pants made the decision an easy one, and we are delighted to both establish ourselves in the region as well as welcome a fantastic group of experienced developers who can start exchanging with our other teams worldwide."

"We are very excited about this opportunity, and how it will benefit our studio" stated Simon Andrews, co-founder and executive partner of Action Pants Inc. "Action Pants and Ubisoft share very similar values and we are confident that this synergy will provide all of our staff with new and exciting opportunities, as well as resources that will benefit all of our future products".