Ubisoft Entertainment

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum

Background

Ubisoft Entertainment, known as Ubi Soft Entertainment (with a space) prior to 2003, is a French game development company that is among one of the most successful, establishing many subsidiaries worldwide. They are most famous for making the Far Cry, Rayman, Splinter Cell and Assassin's Creed franchises.


1st Logo (1986-1989)


Visuals: The word "UBI" is written in a large font, with a hand-written "Soft" over it to the lower right corner. Below the logo, "ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE" is seen.

Technique: A still, sprite-based graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability: Most recently seen during the credits of Raving Rabbids: Travel in Time on the Wii, as an Easter egg in relation to the game's time travel theme.

2nd Logo (1989-1993)

Visuals: Just the company name written on a black background. "UBI SOFT" is in the ITC Lubalin Graph Std Bold font in capitals, and "Entertainment Software" is in italics below.

Technique: A still, sprite-based graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability: It was seen on Street Racer (1994), though this kind of logo was also used on box covers.

3rd Logo (September 1, 1995-November 14, 2003)

Visuals: Against a shining rainbow background, a black logo ("Ubi Soft" and "ENTERTAINMENT", the latter is in spaced-out letters to fit the width of "Ubi Soft") comes, turns left and right, then places itself to the center. The background condenses to the rainbow cap over the logo, which becomes white.

Variants:

  • The logo is a still shot on Rayman and other games for Nintendo 64 and Game Boy, as well as for the game Myst III: Exile. Sometimes the still logo has white background, as on Player Manager 2002.
  • Sometimes, the logo is black and white, which can be found on Game Boy Color games that are backwards compatible with the original Game Boy.
  • There's another version seen on Hexcite for Game Boy Color where the text zooms in on a white background. After that, the rainbow cap wipes in.
  • The logo is sped-up in Scrabble for the Game Boy Advance.
  • On some GBC games, the logo appears with the game title and copyright shown below, or the "LICENSED BY NINTENDO" text instead.
  • The color of "ENTERTAINMENT" is yellow-ish on All Star Tennis 2000 for Game Boy Color. On Hexcite and Dinosaur for the same console, it's bright green.
  • Dinosaur for Game Boy Color also has the logo seen on the top instead of the center.
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell has the logo shine twice before three green, glowing circles appear behind the logo (representing Sam Fisher's night vision goggles), as the logo gains a TV screen-like effect. The text fades out, followed by the logo and the circles. A short techno-militaristic theme is heard during the logo.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A fast-descending wind-chime intro, followed by a mellow eight-note guitar composition. After a few years, most games abandoned the guitar, only leaving the wind-chime sounds and a dark sounder after it.

Audio Variants:

  • On Rayman, an orchestral composition is played.
  • Sometimes (specifically for the still variant) the main theme of the game is played over the logo instead.
  • The Hexcite version of the logo used a 6-note theme.
  • On Batman: Gotham City Racer for PlayStation, a second instance of the usual audio plays over.

Availability: Seen on Sub Culture, Theocracy, Silent Hunter II, among other games. This logo was used in tandem with the "Spiral" logo for a short time. Most recently seen during the credits of Raving Rabbids: Travel in Time on the Wii, as per its time travel theme.

Legacy: A nostalgic favorite among gamers due to its presence on many classic games.

4th Logo (November 10, 2003-2009)

Visuals: The screen zooms out of a glowing purple tunnel containing many white rings. The light becomes more intensive and the tunnel later collapses on a black background into a purple circle with helixes. The stylized text "UBISOFT" flips in letter-by-letter.

Variants:

  • On the trailer for Act of War, the logo is formed from liquid metal.
  • There are other variants in some games, including the still white-background variant.
  • Sometimes, the text "presents" is under the "UBISOFT" text in white.
  • On the GameCube version of Winnie the Pooh's Rumbly Tumbly Adventure, a slowed-down, lower-pitched version of the logo plays. The reason for this is unknown, although it could have been an FMV rendering error, considering the other logos play at standard speed and the PlayStation 2 version has it play at the standard speed as well.
  • A short version also exists, in which the logo begins with the tunnel making a bend, but now the tunnel zooms out faster, along with the text animation. When the text flips in however, the animation is slowed down.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A dreamy synth trance-like jingle with quiet whooshing in the background, usually ending with a fading ding.

Audio Variants:

  • On the short version, the music is shortened to the first 4 ticks, and the ding comes immediately.
  • On Monster 4x4: World Circuit, the logo's sounds are replaced by race car motor sounds.
  • The short version can sometimes have the full music in warp speed, examples include And-1 basketball and Bomberman Hardball.

Availability: First appeared as a variant on Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. The logo was introduced formally in 2004. Appears on Prince of Persia games until 2009, Far Cry, Rayman: Raving Rabbids, Open Season, Peter Jackson's King Kong, and many more.

Legacy: Another nostalgic favorite from Ubisoft, particularly due to the music.

5th Logo (June 25, 2009-May 31, 2017)

Visuals: On a black background, a light blue orb flashes in, which quickly zooms toward the camera as we see several lines move into it. As the orb zooms through the camera, there is a tunnel made of smoke and spirals. It disappears as more lines appear and form the Ubisoft logo, which starts as shiny chrome before becoming 2D.

Variants:

  • There is a shortened version where the logo starts right before the swirl forms.
  • On The Crew, the logo is in scope.
  • Some 3DS games have a different version of the logo to accompany the features of the system.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Two crystallized dings combined with a few synth notes, then two more dings, and one final synth chord.

Audio Variants:

  • On the shortened version, the logo contains faster synth chords and swooshing sounds, plus the ding sounds different.
  • On Rocksmith for Xbox 360, PlayStation S3 and PC, the last note of the music is a rock chord.
  • On Discovery Tour by Assassin's Creed: Ancient Egypt (also on Assassin's Creed: Origins in the Discovery Tour mode), it's worth noting that the final synth chord, which has been arranged, was played when encountering a Ubisoft Behind the Scenes station during a tour. Also, a reverse effect was played when the narration is finished.

Availability: Seen on Assassin's Creed 2, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, R.U.S.E., Silent Hunter 5, and others. Many Ludia games also have this logo.

Legacy: This logo is just as popular as the previous one, thanks to its animation and music.

6th Logo (June 12, 2017-)


Visuals: On a black background with a dim white glow, there is a somewhat misaligned white ring in the middle of the screen. The ring then quickly unravels into a simplistic and blocky version of the Ubisoft logo from before. As this happens, "UBISOFT" appears below, this time in a plainer font with the "O" in the same style as the ring seen in the beginning. The logo then expands out and unravels itself, wiping away the text before thinning out.

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Audio: A violin note growing in volume before stopping, and then another one with a piano note. Also, it sounds similar to the previous logo's music. But usually, the logo is silent.

Audio Variants:

  • On South Park: The Fractured but Whole and other games, the logo is silent.
  • On Just Dance games from 2019 to 2022, the Just Dance sting is heard.
  • On Just Dance 2023 Edition and Just Dance 2024 Edition, a different sting is heard.
  • On UNO, a jazz tune plays when the UNO cards are on screen.
  • Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game - Complete Edition has a slightly pixelated, slower-animating logo. The normal music is kept, but it is out-of-sync.

Availability: It was first introduced at E3 2017, and the animated version was seen on Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. It has since appeared on the company's newer games.

Legacy: Many people consider this logo to be a downgrade compared to the previous logos.

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