The annual Ubisoft Developers Conference took place this week, hosting presentations on combating toxicity in live games and trail generation in Riders Republic, and La Forge announced a four-studio expansion. From corporate updates to patch notes, here's every piece of Ubisoft news for the past week.

How Ubisoft Is Supporting Our Teams And The People of Ukraine

As the eyes of the world are on the devastating invasion of the Ukraine, Ubisoft is committed to supporting those caught in the midst of the crisis. The company set up alternative housing in neighboring countries to give Ukrainian employees and their families a safe place to live. Additionally, Ubisoft set up a hotline employees can call to get personalized aid. Ubisoft also made a donation of 200,000 euros to the Ukrainian Red Cross and Save The Children to help the immediate needs of the Ukrainian population.

**Using Algorithms To Create Riders Republic's Trail Network **

During the Ubisoft Developers Conference, Senior Houdini Artist Igor Kharitonov presented on the procedurally generated network of trails in Riders Republic, detailing the team's use of traditional pathfinders before moving to genetic algorithms. In an interview with Ubisoft News, Kharitonov spoke about the challenges of using pre-existing landscapes to create Riders Republic's trail network, how they determined data for the algorithms, and how these decisions maximized gameplay experience for players.

**Ubisoft La Forge Expands Into Global R&D Network **

Five years ago, Ubisoft La Forge launched, designed to push game development technology to new levels. The Montreal-based studio created innovative technologies such as SmartNav, ZooBuilder, and Choreograph, all of which have helped create smoother and more realistic design methods for Ubisoft games, including Far Cry 6. Given Ubisoft La Forge's success thus far, the studio is expanding its research and development model to four additional studios: Ubisoft Toronto, Ubisoft Shanghai, Ubisoft Chengdu, and Ubisoft Bordeaux.

Trackmania Grand League Spring Season 2022

On March 2, Ubisoft announced Trackmania's Grand League Spring season will kick off March 6. Every week through April 10, a global roster of 16 top competitors will race towards a championship, with a Final set to take place on April 24. Fans of the esport can tune in to the races on Twitch. Trackmania will also host the Grand League Open, a series of four races that allow non-professional players to qualify for competitive play. The top four racers from each Qualifier will then have a chance to compete in the Open Final and the Challenger, which would grand them entry to the next season of Trackmania Grand League.

Ezio Auditore da Firenze In Fortnite

That's right - one of the most beloved Assassins in the franchise is joining Fortnite's metaverse. The Ezio Auditore da Firenze skin will be available on March 10 for players who buy Assassin's Creed Valhalla or the Dawn of Ragnarok expansion (launching that same day). Players must purchase the game or the DLC through the Epic Games store, or on a platform with their Epic Games account linked, and Ezio will automatically be added to their Fortnite locker. The Ezio Auditore set will include the iconic Assassin outfit, including the Hidden Blade as well as a bespoke emote and pickaxe.

Game Updates

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

On March 1 and 2, Assassin's Creed Valhalla deployed Title Update 1.5.01 to Xbox, PlayStation, and PC platforms. Specific patch notes were not announced, only that the update was meant to improve stability and game performance. The download size ranges from .5 - 7.54 GB depending on platform. Amazon Luna and Stadia will receive the update on March 8 and 10.

One More Thing…

On February 25, Netflix's show Vikings: Valhalla premiered its first season, bringing Norse glory and conflict to the small screen. To celebrate, three of the actors, Frida Gustavsson, Leo Suter, and Sam Corlett joined Ubisoft's Chris Watters and Chastity Vicencio on stream for a special gameplay session of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Watch it here:

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1407622727