It’s all those ”refundable tax credits” that make Montreal an ideal spot for the industry. They start with 60 staffers, and will grow to 500.
”THQ chose Quebec as the location for this major expansion,” said Clement Gignac, Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade, reports GamesIndustry.biz. ”By setting up its biggest studio here, THQ is joining and bolstering a booming local multimedia industry that’s ready to take on new challenges.”
”Many multinationals in this industry are electing to open new facilities here because Quebec has all the ingredients they need to succeed, including a talented workforce, competitive operating costs and the government’s active support,” he continued.
”The company that we are welcoming today will be able to capitalise on Quebec’s many advantages, including its creative and highly skilled workforce. In addition, THQ will be able to benefit from Montreal’s cultural diversity to translate and adapt titles into several languages for worldwide distribution.”
Now for some bigwig at THQ. ”Thanks to its outstanding pool of creative digital media talent and its highly regarded university system, Montreal is the ideal location to support our future product and technology development needs,” said Steve DaCosta.
”Moreover, government support in the form of refundable tax credits and other incentives enabled Montreal to stand out as the best combination of creative talent and favourable economics of the cities we evaluated for our new studio.”
The studio will swell to 500 in total over the course of five years. The new site will handle a lot of Quality Assurance and localization for THQ titles in development, but also R&D. It’s good to hear some publishers expanding instead of major shrinkage.
