Ubisoft Planning Its Own Theme Park To Rival Super Nintendo World
Disneyland, Universal Studios, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Super Nintendo World, and now Ubisoft World? Theme park fanatics are sure to go wild for the latest attraction on our bucket list, with Ubisoft apparently planning its own all-star theme park that could bring its biggest IPs to life.
As one of the largest video game publishers out there, Ubisoft has the rights to everything from Far Cry to Rayman, Assassin's Creed to the Tom Clancy series. 2021 and beyond has major releases for the likes of Far Cry 6, Rainbow Six Extraction, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, and a mysterious open-world Star Wars game. Away from all this, the publisher is looking at an entry to theme parks.
What are Ubisoft's theme park plans?
While Ubisoft already has an impressive share of the video game market, its move into theme parks could be massive. According to Theme Park Insider, Ubisoft has struck a landmark deal with Storyland Studios. For those unfamiliar, Storyland is the massive entity that's previously worked on Universal Studios and Legoland.
There's now a concept for a full-blown Ubisoft theme park. Discussing the venture, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Global Clients at Storyland Studios Ben Thompson said, "Ubisoft's stories and characters are iconic and globally recognisable.
"The settings within Ubisoft's game worlds are a perfect tapestry for physical world creation--whether historic, real life, city-based, under the ocean, or on a different planet. For an experience designer like Storyland, it's an incredibly exciting sandbox to play in. We're thrilled to have been entrusted with this opportunity."
With Storyland's impressive resume, those at Ubisoft are also excited by the prospect of a theme park that can reimagine these games for paying punters. "We are impressed with Storyland's expertise in themed entertainment and their three-dimensional story development approach", said Location-Based Entertainment Manager at Ubisoft Mathilde Bresson.
"Video games and themed parks have a lot more in common than we think. We are excited to join forces with Storyland to continue exploring the potential for synergies and design immersive, innovative and unforgettable experiences based on our catalogue of worlds."
When will we see an Ubisoft theme park?
It's important to remember Ubisoft first announced plans for a theme park in Kuala Lumpur back in 2015. Back then, an Ubisoft press release described it as a next-gen experience. Since then, Ubisoft has come a long way and released hundreds of titles, while video games in general have already moved into their own "next-gen".
The 10,000 square feet park was due to be in the heart of Kuala Lumpur and was set to include rides based on Assassin's Creed, Just Dance, and Rabbids. Although it was slated to open in 2020, that date has obviously come and gone. It's unclear whether the latest endeavour will reuse any of these plans, what happened to Malaysian park, and whether this is just the start of an Ubisoft park rollout.
As for the latest concept, Storyland is apparently working on making these rides indoor - with a potential to be recreated at multiple locations around the world. Storyland will present a more realised idea at this November's IAAPA Expo in Orlando. Either way, get ready to swing your swords as Esio, bust into a military compound like Sam Fisher, and save an island from political unrest like Dani Rojas.
