In the late 1990s , Bernard Landry, Quebec Finance minister at the time, created a tax credit for the video-game sector, which helped the industry flourish in Quebec. He also gave tax credits to tech companies to encourage them to move into a neglected section of Old Montreal that has since become one of the hottest real estate markets in the city and a symbol of Montreal’s creativity. The first major studio to take advantage of this offer was Ubisoft.
Ubisoft Montreal started with low-profile children’s games based on existing intellectual property. After a while, the studio develop some AAA titles such as Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell in 2002 and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time in 2003. Subsequently, they continued to develop sequels and related games in both series, and developing its own intellectual properties through the Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Watch Dogs, and For Honor.