Ubisoft India marks nationâ??s first DS game

An upstart Ubisoft studio in the Indian city of Pune has become the nation’s first to fully develop a DS title.

Ubisoft Pune – situated in the state of Maharashtra – spent seven months developing the DS title 100 All Time Favorites.

The game, which in the UK is given the title Master All Classics, is a collection of timeless board and card games from around the world.

The studio was formed after Ubisoft purchased Gameloft’s Pune-based development studio back in 2008. When acquired, that studio had about 120 developers and testers, though Ubisoft Pune has far fewer in-house staff, with around 40 developers on-site.

The Pune office has acted as an outsource for various projects, including the XBLA and PSN title CellFactor: Psychokinetic Wars.

Now with its first full DS project completed, the studio’s head David Blanchard spoke optimistically about the firm’s future.

“Here in Pune, we are trying to go in two directions to consolidate ourselves in the online and handheld space,” he said.

"The creativity of Ubisoft Group goes into creating new IPs on consoles, deliver high quality games, and build multiple experiences around new IPs.”

A CV by one of the studio’s designers revealed that the group is currently in the concept stage of its second major project.

Image: Animation Express