Police confirm no threat found after evacuating Ubisoft Montreal office

According to the CBC and other local media, a major police operation is underway at the headquarters of Ubisoft Montreal. The situation started to develop at approximately 1:30 PM ET. Montreal Police confirmed there’s an ongoing operation in the area, but stopped short of calling it a hostage situation. As of 3:10 PM ET, police say there haven’t been any reports of injuries.

Update (5:10 PM ET): Citing police sources, the CBC says a fake 911 call triggered Friday afternoon’s events.

Videos people uploaded to Twitter and other social media platforms showed heavily armed officers cordoning off the surrounding area, as well as a large host of people on the roof of the studio. Eric Pope, a community manager with the company, said on Twitter he recognized some of the people on the roof of the building as fellow employees. Ubisoft Montreal’s main office is located in the city’s trendy Mile End neighborhood. Police have asked people to stay away from the area.

We’ve reached out to Ubisoft for comment. We’ll update this story when we hear back from the company, and as more information becomes available.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, more than 3,500 employees worked out of Ubisoft Montreal’s main office. Earlier this week, the studio shipped its latest game, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.

Update (3:51 PM ET): Police say they’re in the process of evacuating the building now, and that “no threat has been identified for now.”

Update (8:10 PM ET): The Montreal Police confirmed in a statement that they “deployed a large number of resources to answer a call for a hostage situation in a Saint-Laurent Boulevard office building.” Ubisoft Montreal also posted its own statement regarding the incident.