Ubisoft – the world’s third largest independent video game publisher – wants to make its mark on the attractions industry, offering a new alternative in the form of its own ‘next-gen’ indoor theme park, which the company is planning to take worldwide.
Ubisoft is partnering with developer, designer and operator RSG Group on the attraction. The 15,000sq m (161,500sq ft) theme park will be located in central Kuala Lumpur and will feature innovative Ubisoft-themed rides, attractions and shows. The development is scheduled for completion by 2020.
Speaking exclusively to
Attractions Management, Jean De Rivières, the man heading up Ubisoft’s new theme park division, revealed plans for the project, as well as ambitious plans for expansion in the future.
Rivières, who is associate producer at Ubisoft’s non-gaming division Ubisoft Motion Pictures, said that the theme park experience at the indoor attraction will be nothing like ever before, incorporating gamification into the theme park experience.
“It’s still early days,” he said. “The intention is to immerse people in worlds where they can interact with each other. We want to create a personalised journey with the idea to give guests the opportunity to play the hero in their own life size game.
“We are trying to apply to this project what we’ve learned over the last 30 years at Ubisoft, which is to engage people, immerse them in our universe and then bring them back to reality – that’s the definition of a video game. If our gamers want to come back and play
Assassin’s Creed we’ve succeeded. The more time they spend with us, the more it means they love the concept and the happier we are because it means they will keep coming to our brands."
Ubisoft’s ambitions for the attractions industry don’t stop in Kuala Lumpur though, with plans to eventually take the concept worldwide.
“The big picture is for worldwide expansion, but in a natural way,” said Rivières. “If we don’t find the right partners we won’t go.
"We really want to become a strong player in this industry and we think we have everything for it. We have the brands, we have the concept of the Ubisoft theme park and of course the strategy, confidence and trust from the company to go in the direction we want. We also think we have a strong alternative to what’s been done previously. It’s fresh and different and the audience will love it.”
