On November 13, 2020, a possible hostage situation was reported in Montreal, Canada, at Ubisoft Montreal’s Saint-Laurent building. Journal de Montreal and TVA Nouvelles both report it was a hoax. The Police Montreal Twitter account noted the incident happened “at the corner of Saint-Laurent and St.Viateur,” which is a building that is home to both Ubisoft Montreal and other businesses. At 2:50pm CT, employees evacuations began and the police’s Twitter account said “No threat has been identified for now.” Police are still investigating the situation. [Thanks, Journal de Montreal and IHeartRadio.]
Eric Pope, a Hyper Scape Senior Community Developer, was among the first to report on the incident. He noted on Twitter that a work call ended early as a result of the event. He also shared an image of a news report showing some of the Ubisoft Montreal employees, mentioning that the team he works with took shelter on the roof of the building.
this is insane. this is my team on the roof. pic.twitter.com/xT12NpTALF
— Eric Pope (@MrPope) November 13, 2020
Darby McDevitt, the Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Narrative Director, also checked in on Twitter.
Ok here. In another building altogether. Stay safe everyone. https://t.co/IOiEP2iA8b
— Darby McDevitt (@DarbyMcDevitt) November 13, 2020
Anouk Bachman, who worked on Production Marketing for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, commented on the ongoing situation as well.
My colleagues in the building next are still stuck, Please send good wishes
— Anouk Wolf-Kissed Total Landscaping (@Valskuiken) November 13, 2020
Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reported that Ubisoft Montreal employees told the outlet they “don’t know what happened.”
Clearly something scary happening at Ubisoft Montreal, but be wary of misinformation on Twitter. Employees tell Bloomberg they've received security instructions but don't know what happened. Ubisoft PR says: "We are aware of the situation and working with local authorities."
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) November 13, 2020
This is a situation in progress. The Journal de Montreal has a live-feed running.
Ubisoft Montreal was established in 1997 and, according to its website, has over 3,000 employees. Its most recent games include Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Far Cry: New Dawn and Hyper Scape.
