From Montreal To Osaka – What It’s Like Moving Halfway Around The World At Ubisoft

Hi, Konnichiwa, Allo, and Salut, everyone! My name is Sidonie Weber, and I am an enthusiastic art director at Ubisoft Osaka. It is very exciting to be part of the creative team here at Ubisoft Osaka, where we’re creating concept art and building a 3D art pipeline for a new style of game.

I decided to join Ubisoft Osaka after spending 15 unforgettable winters as a graphic art director at Ubisoft Montreal. I’m originally from France, but I’ve always had a curiosity for various cultures and experiences, so joining the team in Osaka when the opportunity presented itself made perfect sense as the next move in my career. The unknown is very exciting to me, and while I was searching for my next big adventure, I decided to make an international move. Thanks to the support of the amazing HR team, who have been working hard to help with the transition, the move has been very easy.

I was pleasantly surprised when I moved from Ubisoft Montreal to Ubisoft Osaka: I went from working with more than 600 people on just one floor to having roughly 70 teammates in the entire studio! It was a huge contrast, but the ambition and motivation of my teammates in the studio here is truly astounding. I made the move not just because I wanted to work and live in a new country, but also to learn about a new culture, embed myself with a new team, and work on a new and innovative title. Working with such talented people around me, who were also involved in creating several famous Japanese games, was the creative stimulus I needed.

I’ve worked at Ubisoft across different studios for a little over 17 years now. Even though I’ve always stayed in art and grew into my role as art director within the company, I was also able to grow my life experience by living and working in various cultures. It’s expanded my worldview and my creative capabilities. No matter where I went, I was able to work with incredibly talented teammates and create fun moments to amaze people and enrich their lives. Adjusting to Ubisoft Osaka has been seamless, because we work with colleagues all around the world, use the same tools, and have the same motivations for our projects; it’s all in an effort to provide the best experience possible to our players.

Moving from Paris to Montreal was one thing, but when I embarked on my journey to join Ubisoft Osaka, I knew I was entering a truly unknown space since I didn’t speak Japanese! I’ve been with the team for almost two years, and I’ve been studying very hard to learn the language, and have set a goal to learn the three written alphabets of the Japanese language. I’m taking private lessons and study every day after work. I’m eternally grateful for the patience and support of my Japanese sensei and my teammates as they put up with my broken Japanese.

Language aside, adjusting to living and working in Japan has been wonderful. The Hanami, or cherry blossom season, lasts only three days, but is one of my favorite seasons in the country. It marks the coming of spring – there are beautiful sakura-lined walkways, and everything is dusted in pink cherry-blossom petals.

Moving to Ubisoft Osaka (and almost all the way around the world) has shown me that there is a reward to taking risks and pursuing your dreams. If I hadn’t taken advantage of Ubisoft’s unique international mobility program, I wouldn’t have learned to become trilingual. I now communicate in English first, dream in Japanese, and occasionally have brain farts in French!

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