Square-Enix plans to open a new studio with over a hundred employees in 2012, somewhere in Canada. The maker of Final Fantasy is reportedly negotiating with the governments of Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. Whichever location offers the best tax incentives package will get a new Square Enix Studio that expects to employ over one-hundred new employees. Square Enix already has a studio in Montreal - which it acquired when it bought Eidos in 2009. But that doesn't mean Square Enix is giving the edge to that locale:
"When Eidos arrived in Montreal in 2007, the government made a fair offer, but much water has flowed under the bridge for four years," said Stéphane D'Astous, director of Eidos Montreal in a recent French-language interview.
The new Square Enix studio will focus on games for the next generation of consoles, according to D'Astous. Either D'Astous knows something everyone else doesn't know or his comments were lost in translation.
We'll have more on this story as it develops, but no doubt some government in Canada will give Square Enix a deal that it just can't resist.
Source: The Escapist
Comments
Re: Report: Square Enix Negotiating Canadian Tax Deal for ...
I agree. It would be awesome to have a studio like that nearby. B.C. is always good too but I still believe the majority of our business (and population for that matter) spans across Ontario and Quebec. Quebec Already has a studio (as the article states) so why would they need another? For those keen developers in our area, it'd be an really good employment opportunitiy.
Let's wait and see.
Re: Report: Square Enix Negotiating Canadian Tax Deal for ...
Toronto, please! I have zero interest for working for Square, but there is a lot of value in having them start a studio in town! The number of quality artists and musicians would skyrocket, and all the terrible writers and designers could get cozy jobs!
More seriously, it'd be another reaffirming statement in Toronto's steadily growing industry, and with every big studio comes a long tail of smaller houses producing all sorts of cool stuff.