Anyone with Passion to Game Can Have a Gaming Career in India: Ubisoft Pune MD

Game development and designing is not just a growing, viable career in India, but is one that can be pursued by anyone that has enough passion in the field, says Jean-Philippe Pieuchot, managing director of Ubisoft Pune. Speaking to News18 at the sidelines of a closed preview of the soon-to-launch Ghost Recon Breakpoint in the newly opened Ubisoft Mumbai studio, Pieuchot sounded strongly upbeat regarding the potential of the gaming industry in India, and for those who aim to pursue a career in it.

"Gaming today is a career anywhere in the world, so it applies to India as well. It’s true that lower exposure to video games may have led some people to not anticipate that video games could be a fantastic genre of jobs for those who come from backgrounds such as animation, art and more," says Pieuchot.

However, Pieuchot clearly sees that scenario changing. As he describes, "Over the past few years, we’ve run multiple operations in areas such as communication, events and various partnerships, which has allowed us to showcase how video games are a fantastic career opportunity for many. It has also allowed us to show that the process of developing video games is not too complex, and anyone can fit in to the process of developing a video game."

"In India, people now understand that it is a progressive industry. You can grow even with a limited knowledge of video games, but as long as you have the passion, you can learn. As we get more responsibilities and bigger challenges to solve (at Ubisoft), you can steadily grow in various roles within Ubisoft itself," he continues.

The journey, as he notes, only begins with the first tricks of the trade in a studio such as Ubisoft Pune, and going forward, the studio sees itself playing a larger ecosystem role. Pieuchot says, "Our overall vision obviously includes the agenda of developing a game or building a studio, but the idea is to create an ecosystem where you do not achieve things alone. The video games industry is a very competitive, creative and innovative market, and you can only tackle it when you associate yourself with users and other groups."

The effect, as Pieuchot puts it, can be seen growing in India already. Based on his journey at the Ubisoft Pune studio, he says, "Learning with us also allows individuals to go abroad and work with other studios to gain further experience. Some even come back to rejoin us and work further with us. This helps individuals gain specialised experience when it comes to a video game career."

In order to fulfill this promise, Pieuchot reveals that Ubisoft is already working with colleges in India to promote the idea of gaming even further among students. "We eventually aim to establish steady partnerships with top institutes in India, such as the one we have with IIT-Bombay. We plan to establish programmes as part of their curriculum, which makes sure that students are well equipped for gaining expertise in working in game development."