As one door closes, another opens… it would seem Montreal’s game development industry will receive a boost in the form of a new dev studio. No sooner has Stadia closed its Montreal studio, Amazon Games moves in to sweep up the fallout.
Amazon Games Opens Montreal Game Studio
An Amazon Games news post has announced that it has opened a brand new game studio to concentrate on AAA titles in Montreal, Canada.
The news posts says:
The Montreal studio, which joins Amazon Games development studios in Seattle, Orange County, and San Diego, will focus on creating original AAA games. Amazon Games is actively hiring to build out the talented team, with a variety of roles opening.
Funnily enough, Stadia closed its Montreal Studio in February 2021, potentially signaling the demise of the Google Stadia platform. This meaning the former staff who still live in Montreal may well get another bite of the apple, albeit with Amazon and not Google. Amazon has confirmed it will hire in the city, after all…
If you’re interested, you can see what jobs are on offer via Amazon.jobs and selecting Montreal.
Amazon to Capitalize on Montreal’s Creative Talent
Christoph Hartmann, Amazon Games’ VP, is keen to tap into the creative minds of Montreal’s game-industry bods. He says:
Montreal’s rich vein of creative talent will be a valuable asset as we continue building our development and publishing teams. The highly skilled and experienced team at our new Montreal studio shares our commitment to creating best-in-class online games, and brings with them a wealth of knowledge and passion for building deep, community-focused multiplayer experiences. I look forward to watching them invent on behalf of customers as they grow their team and develop their first project.
Not that the new Amazon Games studio will be bereft of talent prior to hiring. Several of the minds behind Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege are founding the Amazon Games studio.
Head of Production will be Luč Bouchard, Creative Director will be Xavier Marquis, Alexandre Remy will be Head of Product, and last but not least, the Content Director will be Romain Rimokh.
What Games Will the Montreal Studio Be Working On?
All four founder members (plus new hires) will work on a new online multiplayer game, fresh from Amazon Games and exclusive to the platform (presumably Amazon will release it via the Luna service).
We know nothing about the game yet but, given the history of the four founder members, you might expect some sort of tactical shooter. However, these details are yet to be confirmed by Amazon Games or any members of its new Studio.
A Positive Step for Amazon Games
It would seem that Amazon is keen to fill spaces left by the wavering Stadia platform. Just one day after Google closed its in-house game dev studios, Andy Jassy, Amazon’s new CEO, was in there like a shot with a “hey, we’re still devoted to making games” shout, all but saying “unlike Google”.
If Amazon Games can capitalize on this new studio the way it thinks it can, perhaps we can look forward to some awesome AAA titles from the developer, instead of The Grand Tour…
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