Square Enix has today announced plans for expansion in Montreal, Canada. New jobs will be created at Eidos Montreal, alongside the opening of a second studio, to be named Square Enix Montreal.
The new house will open next year, and is to start work on a currently unannounced Hitman game. Lee Singleton, current general manager of Square Enix London, is to head the new initiative. 150 jobs are expected to be created upon opening, as Square Enix join the likes of Electronic Arts, THQ and Ubisoft in forming a major Canadian studio, looking to take advantage of Canadian tax credits.
Square Enix have also revealed 100 new jobs will be created at Deus Ex: Human Revolution developers Eidos-Montreal. The team have confirmed they are working on additions to the Deus Ex and Thief franchises, as well as a secret third title.
Yoichi Wada, president and chief executive officer at Square Enix, told Gamasutra, “Montreal is a vibrant centre of game creators with industry-leading talent, and one of the most important bases of our global network of game development within the Square Enix Group.”
Phil Rogers, president and chief executive officer at Square Enix Europe, continued, “We believe in creating studios where passion for our games and gaming runs throughout and Eidos-Montreal is testament to this vision.”
“The start up of a second studio brings a huge advantage to our business; we will nurture two separate studios with their own strengths, culture and appeal.”
After the success of Deus Ex: Human Revolution’s release back in August, Square Enix’s expansion allows the company to simultaneously work on multiple triple-A titles. Square Enix Montreal are in no rush to start production, something that Singleton is clear to establish.
“We’ll only turn the production taps on when we’re ready, and we’re clear on exactly what we are building. Our process follows best practice, and we will only go into production once we’ve build a robust and fun vertical slice that shows the necessary production metrics we need to plan out the full production.”