Jade Raymond heading up Ubisoft Toronto

In July, Ubisoft announced it was opening a new studio in Toronto, Canada's largest city. At the time, Ubisoft Montreal CEO Yannis Mallat was named as the head of the new shop, its fourth studio in Canada. Today, though, the French publisher announced Jade Raymond, executive producer of the forthcoming Assassin's Creed II, will be in charge.

In a statement, both Mallat and Raymond expressed enthusiasm for the arrangement, with the latter even dropping some clues about the studio's mission. "I'm looking forward to building a strong and talented team to work on AAA games and new intellectual properties," said Raymond.

Ubisoft Toronto certainly has the resources to create new top-tier franchises, as it is getting C$263 million ($226 million) in financial backing from the Canadian government. Over the next 10 years, the studio plans on hiring around 800 employees, and will open its doors later this year. In accordance with Ubisoft's post-Tom Clancy-buyout pan-entertainment strategy, Ubisoft Toronto will also work on comics, films, and books related to its game projects.