Games developer and publisher Ubisoft, based in France, has announced that it plans to open a new fully fledged development studio in Kiev, Ukraine. The studio will initially be founded to assist the Bucharest, Romania unit of Ubisoft in the development of the upcoming air combat game HAWX, and will later take on a prominent role in game development for the French company.

Ubisoft stated that 12 developers, as part of what it called a "core team", are already working in the Ukrainian capital for Ubisoft, having contributed to the development of the PC version of air combat game Blazing Angels: Secret Missions of WWII. The leader of this core team, Vitalii Blazheiev, will become the head of the new Ubisoft studio and will oversee the hiring of some 50 people this year alone to create the basic team that will help with HAWX.

Ubisoft has game developer studios in Eastern Europe since 1993. It first opened a studio in Bucharest, Romania, that now employs upwards of 500 people, and it later created a smaller studio in Sofia, Bulgaria, which also has around 50 employees. The studio based in the capital of Romania has been widely praised for the outstanding work it has done on the Silent Hunter franchise, especially its last two installments.

Christine Burgess-Quémard, the worldwide executive director for Ubisoft, in charge of new studio development, has stated that "We have had a very positive experience in Eastern Europe, as the quality of the upcoming Tom Clancy's HAWX developed by our Bucharest studio can attest. Having seen the potential demonstrated by the Sofia studio's first projects, it was only natural for us to pursue our expansion in this region and attract a new pool of highly-skilled talents to the group".

HAWX, the latest title produced by Ubisoft under the Tom Clancy name, will create complex air battles using the fighters of tomorrow. The success of the game could further increase the clout that Eastern Europe is developing when it comes to making videogames.