Ubisoft Educational Games

[Chiquita Mcnicholas]

Basedon these findings, Ubisoft's Quebec studios (Montral, Qubec, Saguenay) unveiled Ubisoft Education in November 2018. Designed to prepare young Quebecers for the careers of the future, the program has three objectives: first, to attract more young people to science-related fields, such as technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM); second, to support the development of young people's skills in these disciplines; and third, to diversify Quebec's pool of technological talent.

The program's strength comes from the commitment of nearly 300 employees from studios in Montreal, Quebec City and Saguenay who are actively involved as mentors and speakers. They help pass on their expertise and passion for science and technology to young people in projects such as Youth Fusion, the Game Lab Competition and Academos, among others.

With the launch of Ubisoft Education, the Quebec studios have breathed new life into the work begun in 2004 with Ubisoft Campus and other educational initiatives the group has introduced over the years. Between 2015 and 2022, more than $12 million will have been invested in education by Ubisoft and thousands of hours of employee involvement will have been devoted to initiatives for the next generation.

We are offering cultural and educational institutions free access to select Ubisoft PC games with educational content covering history, geography, science, and technology as part of the Ubisoft Play to Learn program.

Here are all of the games currently available in the Ubisoft Play to Learn program. Click a game to learn more about how it can be used in an educational context. Please note a PC is required for all games in the Ubisoft Play to Learn program.

Since their inception, video games have helped players and students improve their knowledge and skills in a fun and engaging way: they bring students together through rewarding experiences that offer new perspectives and enable spaces to play, test, and practice new skills. Since its founding in 1986, Ubisoft has created video games to not only entertain, but also to help players teach and test, and share knowledge; foster exploration; master puzzle solving; and even learn a new language.

Ubisoft regularly partners with education industry professionals around the world to share their knowledge and ensure our games and services are up-to-date with the latest in education technology no matter players' age, skill level, or learning needs. Whether players are practicing new guitar and bass chords with Rocksmith+, learning coding with Rabbids, building mathematics skills through completing mini games, discovering a piece of history with Valiant Hearts, or interacting with ancient worlds in Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft has many outlets to foster learning.

We met with Ubisoft'sindustry experts who helped to create some of our most popular educational games and services to ask them about their creative processes and favorite stories from the classroom and beyond.

Explore History in the Classroom and Beyond

Between travelling to some of the most iconic historical sites of all time, the Assassin's Creed Discovery Tour series provides educational opportunities for players, educators, and students around the world. The Discovery Tour series allows discovery and learning opportunities about the Viking age and ancient Greece and Egypt from various perspectives, offering a unique role-playing opportunity without in-game conflict. The series serves as a set of exploratory DLCs that enable players to further explore the worlds of Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Origins, and Valhalla, respectively.

Antoine Guignard, Producer at Ubisoft Montreal, focuses on Ubisoft's training, HR talent training, and educational resources. He was inspired to create educational content for a younger audience after seeing opportunities that came from the world created in Assassin's Creed Origins. According to Guignard, "The world of Ancient Egypt really leant itself to becoming the inspiration for the first Discovery Tour game. We wanted to ensure we met with educators and gamers because we wanted the game to be both fun and useful in the classroom."

As the Assassin's Creed franchise developed, so did the Discovery Tour's interactivity and storytelling. Guignard says, "The addition of the interactive guides in the Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece gave a human touch to the game, as players must interact with important historical figures to learn and understand the world. We added a quiz element to the end of each area with guides to help players retain information and even challenge them a bit in some areas.

When developing Discovery Tour: Viking Age, the team we made sure to gather additional feedback from teachers who used the previous two installments to build on the next game. Discovery Tour: Viking Age leverages lessons learned from the previous titles by putting narrative at the core of the game experience. "Players step into the shoes of 9th century people - a couple of Norse merchants, a young monk and King Aelfred of Wessex - to live their stories from their perspective," explains Guignard. "We saw that giving players a more 'empathy-driven' experience allowed for greater interest, involvement, and retention in the classroom. We also partnered with McGill University in Montral to include teachers' guides for each Discovery Tours game to help educators create lesson plans, and we've had great feedback from these being utilized in the classroom," says Guignard.

Like much of the world, many classrooms in Montreal were forced to temporarily close their doors, suspend in-person classes, and cancel learning trips following the outbreak of COVID. "The pandemic provided an opportunity for growth in digital leaning, and thankfully the Discovery Tours series was able to assist several schools around the world," shares Guignard. "We're always open to receiving feedback from teachers who use the Discovery Tours in the classroom, and one instance that was really special came from a high school in Montreal, where a teacher was forced to cancel a school trip to Greece. The class was able to utilize Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece's interactive tours to learn about and discover a new world in a time when travelling in person was not possible.

In the series' newest installment, Discovery Tour: Viking Age, players complete quests, make decisions, and learn about both Viking and Anglo-Saxon life in 11th century Northern Europe. This interactivity allows players to not only view the world, but also to participate in it. Viking Age was created in collaboration with specialists in Norse and Anglo-Saxon history to develop a truly immersive experience, and provides additional lore, historical facts, and even development commentary about creating the world of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. As a bonus, as players unlock items in the Viking Age installment, they can be transferred over to their Assassin's Creed Valhalla playthrough.

Practice Coding in Outer Space

For the average person, learning a computing language sounds like an intimidating task. Thankfully, Rabbids Coding has helped many learn the basics of coding and machine learning theory in an easy-to-use, fun environment. To begin the game, players are greeted by a group of pesky Rabbids who've invaded the International Space Station, and it's their job to launch them back into space! To complete each level, players must correctly run a simplified code to guide robots trying to catch the Rabbids before they destroy the spacecraft. Through its 32 levels, Rabbids Coding teaches a variety of general programming concepts including loops and conditions in an easy-to-understand way. The final level rewards players by offering a sandbox create-your-own level to practice the techniques learned in the game.

Rabbids Coding has been used as a popular resource in computing classrooms around the world. Some offline initiatives have also been implemented in the UK to ensure each student has a chance to learn about principles of coding in a simple and fun way, including providing Rabbids worksheets and teachers' and parents' information packs. These resources have also been implemented into the virtual game to help teachers incorporate Rabbids Coding into their curriculum.

We met with Mickal Newton, whose team focuses on philanthropic initiatives, charitable donations, sustainability, and sponsorships. Newton says, "We wanted to create a game that was specifically tailored to both children and their parents, so we focused on making it user-friendly for all age groups. It was also important to us that everyone felt motivated to continue progressing even if the game became difficult, so we added tips and tricks throughout the game to encourage players to continue through the levels."

Rabbids Coding inspired Ubisoft to initiate a worldwide design competition in partnership with Libraries Without Borders, an international non-profit organization dedicated to increasing literacy and education worldwide. The competition was open to students from around the world, drawing over 300 participants and 70 different level designs. The eight competition winners, representing nine universities and five countries, had their levels added to the game. "It was really interesting to see the variety of ideas presented during the competition," says Newton. "It's very rewarding to see a new generation of programmers, designers, and developers discover their passion after having this opportunity with our game."

Newton's team has also worked to ensure Rabbids Coding is accessible for users around the world. The game has already been translated in nine languages, including Arabic, Catalan, Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish and is currently developing an update featuring Ukrainian and two Afghan languages.

(Re)connect With a Childhood Friend

For many French-speaking children of the 90s, Adibou, the friendly alien, and his gang of pals were essential to the world of early PC gaming. Through solving puzzles, competing in mini games, and growing fruits and vegetables, Adibou helped children master their reading and basic math skills in a fun and unique environment. The original game spawned a series of educational games exploring similar themes that lasted from 1992 to 2009 and amassed a following of over 10 million players.

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