Square Enix to open new Canadian studio for next wave of consoles
Location to be decided in May; At least 100 employees to prepare for new games hardware
Japanese publisher Square Enix is planning a second studio in Canada, looking to take advantage of millions of dollars in subsidies and the region's generous tax incentives to create games for a new wave of home consoles.
Planned to open in 2012 and host at least 100 employees, there are three locations in the running - Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto, according to Canadian paper La Presse.
Square Enix already has the Eidos Montreal studio, and its director Stéphane D'Astous is charged with finding the new location, telling La Presse that "the negotiating process has begun."
The new consoles from Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo will require more attention and more staff. We want to prepare ourselves
Stéphane D'Astous, Eidos Montreal.
While another base in Montreal would be advantageous for closer working relationships, it's the direct subsidies from the Quebec government that are more appealing - it handed Warner Bros $7.5 million and THQ $3.1 million to settle there recently.
The location will be chosen by Square Enix at the end of May. The new studio will be a base for staff to work on games for the next generation of home hardware, said D'Astous.
"The new consoles from Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo will require more attention and more staff," he said. "We want to prepare ourselves."
According to the report, Square Enix has already looked at and dismissed Raleigh, Atlanta and Orlando as locations for the new studio.
Eidos Montreal is currently at work on Deus Ex: Human Revolution, to be published this August.
I'm not making an anti-Eidos point, simply trying to open a debate on the issue.
@ Jim. I think Ubi have had a similar team for a while now. I'd assume that Sony and MS are keeping the big developers in the mix about what's going on.
Edited 2 times. Last edit by Nick McCrea on 17th March 2011 5:35pm
Hopefully the sales will translate accordingly. It would provide a nice welcome boost of team confidence for their next projects going forwards I reckon, allowing for DLCs, new mission packs, and other franchises to explore.
@ Chee, I'll be interested to see its sales. I'll also be interested to see how Brink does. I'll probably buy DX, purely because I played the last one on the PC, but I doubt I'll buy Brink - it looks very good though, it'll be interesting to see how both titles do in the current market.
@ Fran - be interested to see how reception for Brink does as well. Or more like how does the business model of Splash Dash work vs Eidos Montreal - and which kind of developer can turn out better goods
Because if they do, I would love to work there someday when I finally finish my university course and move over there after some time and a bit of luck.
@Shane, you are right. I believe they built Deus Ex from the ground up. They seem to be a passionate bunch and they also realize the necessity for proper planning and design. The Thief 4 team was incredibly small in the first year while they were getting the specs down and for initial programming.
Edited 1 times. Last edit by Chris Karpyszyn on 21st March 2011 1:03pm