Funcom establishes new Montreal development studio
Age of Conan developer moves to "one of the most cost effective locations in the world"
Norway-based developer Funcom is to open a new development studio in Montreal, the company announced today.
The new studio, headed up by Ole Schreiner, will tap into the talent pool available in the region as well as make the most of incentives for videogame development offered in Quebec. Development of a number of titles will be handled there, including Age Of Conan expansion pack Rise Of The Godslayer and new MMO The Secret World.
"Montreal has established itself as one of the world's most important locations for videogame production, and we are looking forward to taking part in that success," commented Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas.
"In addition to strengthening our North American presence, the new studio will take advantage of the great incentive programs offered by the Quebec region, incentives that makes Montreal one of the most cost effective locations in the world for developing MMO games. This will in turn allow us to better balance our costs, making it possible for us to continue to expand our investments into the MMO segment."
The MMO developer currently employs over 320 workers in offices in Norway, the US, China and Switzerland. It has developed more than 20 titles since its founding in 1993 - the best known of which is Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, which shipped over 1.2 million copies in 2008.