The Ubisoft Indie Series is celebrating five years of showcasing local indie talent, helping them grow, and working to build an industry where big and small studios work together on both the local and international stage.

This independent studio competition offers two cash prizes (a $50,000 grand prize and National Bank's ($25,000 "Coup de coeur" Special Prize), mentoring by Ubisoft experts, promotional marketing activities, internal and external communication events for collaborating between Ubisoft and the studio (both locally and internationally), and entrepreneurial training by National Bank, our key partner.

In Quebec, past winners have all used their awards in different ways. Sabotage Studio used our user labs in Quebec City; Polymorph Games took the advice of Ubisoft Mainz, who were working on a game similar to theirs (Anno); Manavoid improved its market development with the advice from the Consumer and Market Intelligence department; Metric Empire worked closely with the Montreal studio's user research lab; Norsfell had exchanges with our experts to perfect their game's multiplayer design; and Thunder Lotus promoted the launch of its latest game with international visibility at the first Ubisoft Forward event.

Check out the video recap below of the past five years in Quebec:

And three clips featuring former Indie Series winners:

Polymorph: global success by a local indie

Sabotage Studio: Reaching for the stars

Norsfell: Standing on the shoulders of giants

As for Ontario, it has seen its independent game development ecosystem grow and produce exciting new talent over the past five years. Indie Series launched at Ubisoft Toronto in 2017, and the inaugural grand prize winner Reptoid Games received mentorship on production, game design, and art.

Ontario winners have included 2018 grand prize winner Alientrap Games and National Bank special prize winner Falling Squirrel; 2019 grand prize winner GLOAM and National Bank special prize winner WashBear Studio; and 2020 grand prize winner Vivid Foundry and National Bank special prize winner Kitten Cup Studio. In that time, Ubisoft Toronto mentors have provided everything from narrative advice to programming and design guidance. The Toronto studio has also been able to provide promotional opportunities for Ubisoft Indie Series winners at events like the Indie Arena Booth at Gamescom, and worked closely with colleagues in Quebec on additional speaking opportunities for Indie Series winners at last year’s MEGAMIGS.

This year, the Ontario and Quebec indie videogame communities came together virtually to celebrate their accomplishments at the annual Ubisoft Indie Series 2021 Gala.

In Quebec, it was Chasing Rats who took home the Grand Prize for their game Worship, and Fika Productions with the National Bank's "Coup de cœur" for their game Ship of Fools.

In 2021, interest from Ontario developers was at an all-time high. We received the largest-ever number of submissions for Indie Series, and this year, special consideration was also given to studios that value diversity, either in the content of their games, target audience, or in the makeup of their studio.

The grand prize went to Mermaid Heavy Industries for their game Skategirl Destroys the Universe, and Killjoy Games won the National Bank special prize for their game Curses. See video of the winners at the Toronto virtual gala below:

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