Square Enix already own Eidos-Montréal, who worked on Deus Ex: Human Revolution and are currently working on Thief 4. Next year, Square Enix will be expanding Eidos-Montréal and creating 100 new jobs at the studio. This is in order to allow the studio to work on a third major project in addition to the Deus Ex and Thief series.
As part of the expansion, Square Enix will be adding in-house audio recording and motion tracking studios, a mini-theatre, and more to Eidos-Montréal.
Additionally, Square Enix will be opening a second, entirely new studio in Montréal next year as well. This studio will create 150 jobs, and will be led by Lee Singleton, currently general manager of Square Enix London Studios.
So, what are Square Enix Montréal going to be working on? Square say they’ve been assigned to the Hitman series, which means there are now two studios — Square Enix Montréal and IO Interactive in Copenhagen — working on Hitman. Square Enix Montréal are presently working on a new Hitman game, separate from IO Interactive’s Hitman: Absolution.
“Montréal 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,” said Square Enix president, Yoichi Wada.
Food for thought:
Square Enix London have really been in the spotlight of late. They worked with Rocksteady Studios to publish Batman: Arkham Asylum in 2009. Currently, they’re working on Heroes of Ruin for the Nintendo 3DS with n-Space, and are also supervising the revival of True Crime: Hong Kong.
