Amazon just opened a game studio in Montreal headed up by Rainbow Six Siege veterans

[Cal Jeffrey]

In context: It is somewhat hard to believe that Amazon Games has been around since 2012. What makes it so shocking is that it has not published anything except a failed then canceled 6v6 shooter. Eight years seems like more than enough time to release at least one mediocre game, especially for a company holding three studios. Maybe one more will be the magic number.

On Tuesday, Amazon announced the opening of a fourth game studio. The new development house in Montreal, Canada, joins already active studios in Seattle, Orange County, and San Diego under the Amazon Games (formerly Amazon Game Studios) umbrella. The developer is now hiring, but a veteran staff has already joined the ranks to lead the team.

The studio's founding members include the core team involved with Rainbow Six Siege. Former technical lead at Ubisoft Luc Bouchard is the new head of production. Amazon poached Siege's Art Director Xavier Marquis for the role of creative director. Alexandre Remy, who was brand and esports director for rainbow six, is Amazon Games Montreal's product head. Cinematics & Scripted Events Director Romain Rimokh will be the studio's content director. Amazon says the team's first project will be an unnamed "online multiplayer title based on new IP."

"Montreal's rich vein of creative talent will be a valuable asset as we continue building our development and publishing teams," said Amazon Games VP Christoph Hartmann. "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."

Amazon Games has not had much luck releasing original content. In 2016, it announced three games were in development—Breakaway, Crucible, and New World. Breakaway was given the ax in 2018 before ever reaching release. Free-to-play Crucible launched last May to terrible reviews and a cold reception, causing Amazon to pull it back into a closed beta. It subsequently canceled the game in October. Open-world MMO New World has suffered numerous delays but remains scheduled to release sometime this year.

Amazon Games hopes that with veteran developers at the new studio's helm, its luck will take a turn for the better.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/89021-amazon-opened-game-studio-montreal-headed-up-rainbow.html

 

[scavengerspc]

In 2021! "Rainbow 6 - $50 small bottle sanitizer and late delivery." The sequel.

 

[SirDigby]

Hahahahahahahahahahaha good luck.

 

[Bulllee]

Another tax break.
No games for PC or console.
That's it.

 

[Austinturner]

Maybe big companies fail to understand games because they require a deep culture of creativity, passion and fun, things that aren’t exactly associated with huge corporations? I’m loving Valheim at the moment, no way would that have passed scrutiny at any big company.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Wow, my hometown is rapidly becoming the video game development capital of the world. I never would have believed it possible even just ten years ago. I just looked and apparently fifty-three game developers have a presence in Montreal. I knew about the big boys like Ubisoft, Eidos/Square Enix, EA and Bethesda but I didn't know about all of the other ones there. I'm blown away by this. I always knew that Montreal is an incredibly creative city for art and music but I never thought of it for video games. I guess creativity is creativity!

Speaking of which, you should see some of the work that the street artists do. It's unlike anything that I've ever seen and I've been to A LOT of countries. When looking at this image, you may have to remind yourself that it's a flat painting because it's a 3D illusion hand-painted on the side of the old brewery. It's a huge mural on a big building (click to enlarge):

It's really freaky to look at it first-hand because the illusion is so strong that it can mess with your mind and balance if you stare too long ( ). Even just looking at it like this, the Metro cars seem to extend into the distance. The artist who did this did a phenomenal job with the size/distance ratio. I have to give my head a shake and remind myself that the cars in the back of the Metro are no further away from me than the front car. Freaky, but astonishingly beautiful at the same time, especially at that scale.

 

[scavengerspc]

Wow, my hometown is rapidly becoming the video game development capital of the world. I never would have believed it possible even just ten years ago. I just looked and apparently fifty-three game developers have a presence in Montreal. I knew about the big boys like Ubisoft, Eidos/Square Enix, EA and Bethesda but I didn't know about all of the other ones there. I'm blown away by this. I always knew that Montreal is an incredibly creative city for art and music but I never thought of it for video games. I guess creativity is creativity!

Speaking of which, you should see some of the work that the street artists do. It's unlike anything that I've ever seen and I've been to A LOT of countries. When looking at this image, you may have to remind yourself that it's a flat painting because it's a 3D illusion hand-painted on the side of the old brewery. It's a huge mural on a big building (click to enlarge):

It's really freaky to look at it first-hand because the illusion is so strong that it can mess with your mind and balance if you stare too long ( ). Even just looking at it like this, the Metro cars seem to extend into the distance. The artist who did this did a phenomenal job with the size/distance ratio. I have to give my head a shake and remind myself that the cars in the back of the Metro are no further away from me than the front car. Freaky, but astonishingly beautiful at the same time, especially at that scale.

54 Video Game Companies - Montreal - GameJobHunter

We're tracking info on 54 video game companies in Montreal. Research and find opportunities for video game jobs at game studios in the Montreal, Quebec.

gamejobhunter.com

 

[Shaitan]

Let me guess. Another soulless shooter where you can buy some nice cosmetic packs in the form of microtransactions?
Yeah, no.

 

[Avro Arrow]

54 Video Game Companies - Montreal - GameJobHunter

We're tracking info on 54 video game companies in Montreal. Research and find opportunities for video game jobs at game studios in the Montreal, Quebec.

gamejobhunter.com

Yep, that's what I saw. It just blew my mind.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Let me guess. Another soulless shooter where you can buy some nice cosmetic packs in the form of microtransactions?
Yeah, no.

Well, at least they won't be able to treat their employees like cattle. The Quebec government is very much like France when it comes to workers' rights. I do love the fact that they're very happy to beyotch-slap any corporation that thinks the law doesn't apply to them.

When a population isn't oppressed by corporations, creativity flows like the mighty St. Lawrence River.