Square-Enix formally announces Montreal studio, 100 new jobs created

Back in September, Square-Enix had been reportedly in negotiations for a deal with the province of Quebec, which led to news site La Presse Affaires claiming that Square-Enix subsidiary Eidos Montreal would increase its staff to 350 people by 2015, with 100 of them by next year.

That rumor has been confirmed, as Square Enix Europe president Phil Rogers has announced that the new studio was officially open. The director of the Montreal International Gaming Summit, Marie Claude Bernard, related the news on Twitter, announcing “100 new jobs for Eidos Montreal!”

The first project for the new Montreal-based studio will reportedly be a Hitman-related project. Hitman Absolution is already in development for 2012 for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, so this figures to be a brand new game.

Quebec has been a new hotspot for videogame development, thanks to the Canadian province's tax credit for development. For every dollar spent in development of a videogame, the province gives the developer 37.5 cents. Thanks to the bill, the United States has been steadily losing videogame market jobs to Quebec.