Ubisoft released a statement today confirming that it has made a purchase of the Montreal-based design studio Hybride Technologies, which is best known for it works in making digital special effects for movies, television, and advertising projects. Since the firm’s inception fifteen years ago, the company’s numbers have risen to 80 personnel who have worked on such highly popularized cinematic ventures such as 300, Sin City, and the Spy Kids films.

Ubisoft plans to develop an strong working relationship with Hybride that will have at its core a commitment to exchange a variety of technologies and to cooperate in the development of new ways to raise the bar on the both video games and current digital technology. At the same time, Hybride has plans to maintain and develop its existing relationship with its film partners while putting its knowledge of the film industry at Ubisoft’s disposal.

The CEO of Ubisoft, Yves Guillemont, has said this is not only a big step for Ubisoft itself, but a necessary step in remaining competitive in the rapidly changing gaming market:

“The future of our industry depends on our ability to create brands that captivate audiences," he said, "and to extend those brands to other forms of entertainment. The acquisition of Hybride falls directly into the strategy that has already led us to open a digital creation studio in Montreal and to acquire the Tom Clancy brand for video games and ancillary products. The exceptional quality of the team at Hybride and the expertise of our Ubisoft teams will allow us to create one of the best 3D animation studios in the entertainment industry.”

Movies and video games haven’t always been apart. There have been many games that have been translated into big screen adventures (Street Fighter, Doom, Resident Evil, and most recently Silent Hill). By and large, these films have been lackluster, but what Ubisoft is planning on doing is something altogether different: they aren’t attempting to put on their games on the big screen, although that may be a part of it, but primarily, they seem to be working to raise the visual quality of the games to rival what Hollywood puts out on the silver screen. That is a commendable endeavor, as what Hollywood often shows in terms of animation, such as in Pixar’s films, would be amazing if duplicated in video games. I look forward to seeing what Ubisoft and Hybride can accomplish together in the future.