The Ubisoft Toronto NEXT Challenge has officially crowned its champions!
This year, over 300 students and recent graduates from across Ontario brought their A-game, competing to land an internship at Ubisoft Toronto and kickstart their game development careers.
Now in its 12th year, the Ubisoft Toronto NEXT Challenge continues to support aspiring game developers in Ontario with hands-on experience on AAA games and mentorship from industry experts.
“NEXT and Develop at Ubisoft have shaped our studio and Ontario’s video game industry. We’re proud to create pathways for the next generation of talent and provide a platform to bring and support under-represented voices into the industry,” says Darryl Long, Managing Director at Ubisoft Toronto. “Many passionate developers who started in these programs have stayed to grow and build bright careers with us, working on Ubisoft’s biggest brands right here in Toronto.”
Since its inception, the competition has grown exponentially, with over 95 winners and more than 250 participants annually from more than 30 universities and colleges.
To date, we’ve hired over 104 participants (including finalists), and we’re thrilled to share that 29 % of our NEXT hires are still with our studio today. Many have even come full circle, transitioning from competitors to mentors and judges, helping to shape the next generation of game developers.
“NEXT was designed with a clear purpose: to be a stepping stones into working in the video game industry. It offers an important connection to AAA-studio life, mentorship, and provides students with portfolio-worthy projects,” says Lena Yen, Talent Specialist, Campus and Early Career Programs at Ubisoft Toronto. “Our academic partners remain essential to the success of these programs, evolving their curriculum to reflect the dynamic realities of game development.”
2025 Ubisoft Toronto NEXT winners
3D Art
For this year’s theme, participants were asked to create a 3D video game environment diorama of an abandoned convenience store post-disaster. Participants were encouraged to focus on visual storytelling, composition of quality assets, and attention to detail.
Winner: Anya Ng-Chee (she/her) from Centennial College
“Anya’s ambitious concept wowed us—an eerie blend of unfamiliar sci-fi and a familiar store setting. The environmental storytelling shines, with the alien’s orange glow contrasting the cool, desolate space, and the room’s composition vividly tracing its destruction” — Daniel Bede-Fazekas, Model Artist
Second place: John Panesso Ramirez (he/him) from George Brown College
Third place: Priyam Biswas (he/him) from Toronto Metropolitan University
Animation
The year’s theme was “shock.” Participants were asked to create an animation with at least two characters, at least one of which was of biped form. The challenge was to display an understanding of body mechanics and acting through body language.
Winner: Daylan Belsey (he/him) from Durham College
“Daylan’s scene is a masterful blend of storytelling and craft. We loved how it layers emotional and physical ‘shock,’ with characters’ feelings conveyed through subtle acting. The composition keeps the action clear—an impressive mix of artistry and technical skill. Bravo!” — Renée Brunton, Cinematic Animator
Second place: Xiaoyi (Leo) Zhu (he/him) from Centennial College
Third place: Dingruifu (Allen) Liu (he/him) from University of Toronto Missisauga
Concept Art
Imagine a new colony is being built in space on a planet of your choice. How is this new world being inhabited? How have the conditions and resources on the planet influenced life in the colony? Participants were invited to flex their creativity and individuality in art style, tone as well as characters and props to create a composition that tells a story.
Winner: Gabriel Fuentes (he/him) from George Brown College
“This year’s winner has it all—design skills rivaling our senior artists, a stellar process doc with keyframes as strong as the final piece, and an art style perfect for Ubisoft Toronto’s games.” — David Mattiacci, Concept Artist
Second place: Dean Africa (he/him) from George Brown College
Third place: June Lee (she/her) from Sheridan College
Event Scripting
In our very first Event Scripting challenge, participants were tasked with creating an immersive and dramatic sequence that enhances the storytelling and emotional impact of a game. The challenge occurred in two phases designed to be representative of the production journey a scene takes from narrative brief to its first appearance “on screen.”
Winner: Yun Yin (Joyce) Lin (she/her) from Sheridan College
“Yoon-in amazed us with both stunning visuals and expertly scripted story beats that were clean, reusable, and enhanced gameplay flow. They even took on the additional challenge of player’s branching choices and its lasting consequences should a player return to a location.” — Tanya Jutras, Event Scripter
Second place: Chenyao Shi, (he/him) from Sheridan College
Third place: Stefan D’Ippolito (he/him) from Queen’s University
Level Design
From creating a design brief to a playable blockout, participants had to apply their design sensibilities across this two-part challenge, which was designed to be representative of the production journey a mission takes — from its earliest “on paper” pitch to its very first appearance “on screen.”
Winner: Calvin Ip (he/him) from Sheridan College
“Calvin built an awesome mall level—packed with shops, clever puzzles, stealth mechanics, and clear objectives. Navigating to the top was a blast! Amazing work!” — Naveen Prasad, Technical Designer
Second place: Tiphanie Chong (she/her) from Sheridan College
Third place: Lucas Diab (he/him) from Sheridan College
Programming
Participants were challenged to create a minigolf-inspired game entirely in C++ over the course of a weekend using a provided API. They were encouraged to push their creativity, adding their own unique twists and flavour to deliver a polished and engaging experience.
Winner: Ramy Zhang (she/her) from University of Toronto
“Remy delivered a polished 3D rater, structured code, and strong tech skills — evoking Nintendo 64 Mario vibes while leveraging all three dimensions of gameplay.” — Santiago Pacheco, 3D Programmer
Second place: Thomas Plagakis (he/him) from McMaster University
Third place: Christopher Christakis (he/him) from Western University
Technical Animation
In this challenge, participants create a playable demo of a character performing basic locomotion as well as one of three movement challenges. Judges were looking for clarity, ease, and flexibility in animation systems, as well as overall technical execution and visual polish.
Winners: Marcus Angelo Santos (he/him) from Carleton University
“Marcus wowed us with fluid animations, responsive and clever animaiton state machine design, and crystal clear presentation. Well done!” — Atri Dave, Technical Director, Animation
Second place: Xiaoying Qiao (she/her) from Sheridan College
Third place: Chenyao Shi (he/him) from Sheridan College
Technical Art
Creativity and technical skill come together in this challenge where participants had to create a technical interpretation of an art brief. The goal is to ensure that production of a game is achievable by creating efficient and easily useable solutions for other team members that are adaptable to other needs and situations.
Winner: Alexandro Di Nunzio (he/him) from York University
“We were blown away with how well-packaged and streamlined the environment generation tools were, allowing you to iteratively create a cohesive diorama scene in minutes! The flexible scatter system and adaptive material options added serious utility, and it was backed by detailed documentation and video breakdowns.”— Madelaine Fischer-Bernhut
Second place: Deegan Kosen (he/him) from Sheridan College
Third place: Bilal Abdul Gaffoor (he/her) from Ontario Tech University
VFX
A new addition to the NEXT competition, the VFX challenge asks participants to create a 3D video game environment scene based on a provided theme. Participants are encourage to focus on the quality of assets, visual storytelling and overall composition to support their interpretation of the scene.
Winner: Reyhan Ismail (he/him) from York University
“Reyhan delivered stunning electric and fire VFX with thrillng composition, showcasing masterful skills in VFX tech, reference organization and shot planning. Incredible work!” — John Lee, Team Lead VFX
A huge congratulations to the 2025 winners and all the participants who made this year’s competition one of the most memorable yet. We can’t wait to see how you’ll shape the future of gaming!
Curious about Ubisoft Toronto NEXT? Click here to learn more.
