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Eidos sets up Montreal studio
UK publisher becomes the latest to establish a development house in game-friendly province of Quebec.
With nearly 5,000 game development jobs, tax credits for software production, and publishers like EA and Ubisoft finding success in the city, Montreal may be the coldest hotbed of game development in the industry today. Yesterday it was announced the city would be receiving another studio from a frontline publisher, as Eidos and the economic development agency Investissement Quebec laid out plans to establish a new studio in Montreal.
The studio will develop four games for the newest generation of systems and be accompanied by a new testing unit. Eidos expects to hire 110 people in Montreal by the end of the year, with the operation reaching 350 people within three years. Eidos attributed the pool of experienced talent in the area and tax incentives on game development as a pair of the factors that convinced it to establish operations in the city.
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why would you want to work at ea when you can work at edios, edios makes ea look like wothless slobs, but they already were
Posted Feb 18, 2007 6:28 pm PT
Very cool! This will add to the city's diversity, culture and appeal. And more talent will be drawn too.
As gamers we all win since this will mean more, better games!
Posted Feb 18, 2007 1:25 pm PT
Montreal is big for mobile game development too... Jamdat (now owned by EA), Gameloft and Airborne are all headquartered there.
Tax incentives is the biggest reason, yea. But you have other things... bi-lingualism (city is half English, have French), the culture promotes creativity... it's laid back, european. Many large universities right in the city.
Posted Feb 18, 2007 11:52 am PT
Allright!
Thank you for the info, i live near them!
I have now apply in the Quality Control (Tester)
jobs.montreal@eidos.com
Posted Feb 17, 2007 11:30 pm PT
not to mention autodesk/3dsmax and a bunch of other visual effects studios reside here
Posted Feb 17, 2007 5:18 pm PT
pcmacro said..
"Wrong it's because the government invests more into videogame companies. Most people don't know this, but Quebec has forseen the blossom of the videogame industry since the 70s. Montreal wants to be the hollywood of videogames."
Bingo, we have a winner! The Quebec gov. has always shown the digital love and we are happy that Eidos is also added to our great list of studios. I see people talking about the big names since Ubi did put us on the map but the reality is Montreal has alway been a gaming biz town, lets not forget Microids (now part of Ubi) and Strategy First among others.
Posted Feb 17, 2007 4:28 pm PT
e_boulanger
e_boulanger
Let's face it. Eidos does not go in Montreal just for the talent. It goes there because it cost less ( people are paid less than in Toronto, and definitively less than in the US ). However, this may last only a few years. When India begins to produce high quality games, all the companies will go there because these guys are EXTRA cheap.
Wrong it's because the government invests more into videogame companies. Most people don't know this, but Quebec has forseen the blossom of the videogame industry since the 70s. Montreal wants to be the hollywood of videogames.
Posted Feb 17, 2007 3:18 pm PT
to comthitnuong: They are not moving, they are crating a new studio, wich is good because good games take more time to do so they will be able to maintain a good offer.
guertt: L'outaouais... le bon bord de la rivière
Posted Feb 17, 2007 3:17 pm PT
I love Montreal, I was born there, and I live there. Now I have one of company to work at in Montreal when I'm older!!!
Posted Feb 17, 2007 3:08 pm PT
Go, Montreal, go ! Just hope they won't close their doors quickly if their games are not well received. After all, it's Eidos, not Ubisoft who has a lot of cash even after doing disappointing games like Red Steel, for example.
Posted Feb 17, 2007 1:55 pm PT
whatever works, maybe they like french speaking people, could have moved to france
Posted Feb 17, 2007 1:18 pm PT
I don't know why they would want to move but as long as they make a good game, it can't be too bad
Posted Feb 17, 2007 12:04 pm PT
The more jobs available the better, hopefully it means there will be more quality games coming out. Of course it probably also means there will be more crappy games out too.
Posted Feb 17, 2007 12:03 pm PT
"Let's face it. Eidos does not go in Montreal just for the talent. It goes there because it cost less ( people are paid less than in Toronto, and definitively less than in the US ). However, this may last only a few years. When India begins to produce high quality games, all the companies will go there because these guys are EXTRA cheap."
Right because when Ubisoft told Ubisoft Shanghai to make Splinter Cell: Double Agent for the PC, it was not the worst Splinter Cell of all time, compared to the other, well made, Montreal Studio Splinter Cell games.
Just a tiny example, but oh yeah, you're right, we here in Montreal are freaking talentless.
I guess you can't wait for the next generation batch of crap to come out of countries like china and India, I know I love my unoptimized, poorly designed games.
Posted Feb 17, 2007 11:41 am PT
I'm not impressed.I live in Matane, a really small city in Quebec. Matane's college is known to have a Ubisoft Campus connection through a formation available there.It takes 2 or 3 year and then you're paid by Ubisoft. Much more easier (Funny too).Anyway, you have to talk well french here because people often think that english is mandarin.I'm not gonna write in french now because most people wont understand.One more thing,Matane is really,really,really far and the winter there is by far more crazy than it is in many games.Do not think it's big here.It's really small.
Posted Feb 17, 2007 10:58 am PT
sick I'm from montreal so kudos to eidos. I'm happy were becomming hipsters in the video games.
Posted Feb 17, 2007 10:41 am PT
Yes
You all know now that MONTREAL is the **** when VIDEOGAMES talking...
Been testing game on a part time for 3 years at ubisoft play test labo. Even my 6 years old son do so... You know that been paid to play games before the release it's awsome.
Posted Feb 17, 2007 10:40 am PT
Sure, credits help a lot businesses that want to come over here, but those are just for a few years. What really makes a game developper special is its team of designers, and montreal is THE artistic and cultural center in Canada and thats why they find some of the best here.
Posted Feb 17, 2007 9:40 am PT
Let's face it. Eidos does not go in Montreal just for the talent. It goes there because it cost less ( people are paid less than in Toronto, and definitively less than in the US ). However, this may last only a few years. When India begins to produce high quality games, all the companies will go there because these guys are EXTRA cheap.
Posted Feb 17, 2007 9:17 am PT
...depends on which company welcomes my 3d work and which company pays better. For those of you that live in Montreal and are looking to get into the campus, don't believe the "100% you're in after your done" crap, its a lot of work and you have to prove yourself top of the crop. It's expected, but it's nothing like what they say at the start of the term. I'm on the third session and right now all the students and myself are busting a$$ trying to get a game going (hl2 engine).
Posted Feb 17, 2007 8:52 am PT
doktron
thats great for a city that makes english speakers 2nd class citizens!I know cause I live here!
i live there too, im an english speaker too, though i dont feel alienated at all with all the French, I welcome diversity and adapt to my environment.
and about the studio, thats cool, gives me more options right now im at the ubisoft campus, so ubisoft's my first choice but you never know.
Posted Feb 17, 2007 8:44 am PT
I love Montreal, I hate their winters. Although their smoked meat ain't half bad.
Posted Feb 17, 2007 8:17 am PT
Eidos is in 2nd place after Ubisoft ... if you take it by the quality of the games & has under its wing 2 veteran studios of the industry Crystal Dynamics & Io Interective i hope it will make another great studio !
Posted Feb 17, 2007 5:35 am PT
thats great for a city that makes english speakers 2nd class citizens!I know cause I live here!
Posted Feb 17, 2007 5:30 am PT
...and they speak French there?!? Dude, you can't lose. Seriously. I could polish up my French a bit and go up there.
Posted Feb 16, 2007 10:47 pm PT
"Gotta love Canada, Quebec gives tax cuts and incentives to these companies and then asks the rest of the country to pay for it!
Gotta love Canada." Shut uuuuuuuupp... 8-| When it's YOUR turn (whereever the hell you live) YOU'RE not gonna complain, so just shut up, you're just jealous.
Montreal has become one of the top-5 game development cities in the world, and that's reality. Tax breaks or not, the pool of talent is there.
Posted Feb 16, 2007 9:53 pm PT
Man, Toronto always gets passed over in game development, course the city would have the money for tax incentives or anything else, we can't even keep our streets free of multiple potholes.
Posted Feb 16, 2007 9:27 pm PT
Pretty cool I guess, it so happens that I live in Montreal.
"you gotta love those french canadians"
... NOT
Posted Feb 16, 2007 9:23 pm PT
je suis de l'outaouais aussi (gatineau secteur hull)
Doolum : l'outaouais c'est une région du Québec à un pont d'Ottawa
Posted Feb 16, 2007 9:07 pm PT
Gotta love Canada, Quebec gives tax cuts and incentives to these companies and then asks the rest of the country to pay for it!
Gotta love Canada.
Posted Feb 16, 2007 8:52 pm PT
good for budding game developers.... bad for gamers. what was the last good game eidos made?!?! putting the crystal dynamics team aside they totally suck and ive no hope at all for this studio.
Posted Feb 16, 2007 8:21 pm PT
wow. Je ne savais pas qu'il y avait autant de francais sur le site
moi je vien de l'outaouais!
Posted Feb 16, 2007 7:27 pm PT
I like these news!
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