Over the years, the worlds of theme park rides and video games have joined up numerous times. Although often it has come in the form of virtual theme parks for players to either build or explore, with examples such as the Theme Park and Rollercoaster Tycoon franchises or upcoming horror game The Park, sometimes the relationship goes the other way. Many examples come from China, where there have been unofficial theme parks for the likes of Angry Birds and developer Blizzard.

Recently, however, there have been details of yet more theme park rides based on some of the most popular franchises in the video game world. First, news broke that Nintendo was planning to license out some of its famous characters to Universal for rides at its theme parks. It wasn't long before there were rumblings of something larger, however; a few months ago whispers began to circulate stating that Universal Studios was going to begin work on a theme park based entirely around video games.

Now, however, it looks as though there is another big player in the video game industry ready to dip its toe into the theme park market. In a recent update to the Ubisoft blog, the publishing giant revealed that it is going to begin work on a theme park of its own. Western gaming fans looking to visit the park may have a long journey ahead of them, however, as Ubisoft is going to be building the park in Malaysia.

The park, which is being created by Ubisoft Motion Pictures alongside Malaysian theme park developer RSG, is currently scheduled to open in 2020. Built on a 10,000 square meter indoor complex in Kuala Lumpur, the theme park will include rides, shows, and "other attractions" based on key Ubisoft franchises and characters. According to Jean de Rivieres, senior vice president of Ubisoft Motion Pictures, the company will "produce all digital media for the rides," and will maintain creative control over the rides and attractions.

"Ubisoft’s intention for this park is to immerse people in reactive worlds," continued Rivieres, who explained that the company hopes that the park will help visitors "interact with each other and become the heroes of their own life-sized game." Apparently motivation to make the move to a full-on park came after success with a Raving Rabbids ride at the science-based theme park Futuroscope in France. The ride itself won awards, with Rivieres himself being an important factor in the project.

It remains to be seen what franchises or characters will make it into the Malaysian theme park, although fans can no doubt expect family favorites such as Rayman to make up part of the park. However, with huge franchises such as Assassin's Creed and Rainbow Six having more of an action focus, many will wonder just how well these games will transfer into theme park rides. There will be sure to be more updates on the development of the park, and which games will make the cut, as soon as Ubisoft is ready to reveal more.

Source: Ubisoft Blog