16 June 2020

PRESS RELEASE – Eidos-Montréal™ and SQUARE ENIX® announce the creation of Eidos-Sherbrooke™, the brand new regional chapter of the video game studio recognized worldwide for its work on the Deus Ex® franchise and the latest installment in the Tomb Raider® series. The primary mission of Eidos-Sherbrooke will be to support research and development by exploring, testing and applying new technologies to create the video games of tomorrow. The new expert studio will bring together a highly qualified team dedicated to driving technological innovation in video games.

“More than two years ago, real reflection began on the new vision for Eidos-Montreal, and the creation of this new regional chapter is closely linked to it. We wanted to continue our controlled growth and keep people and technology at the heart of this vision, explains David Anfossi, Head of Studio at Eidos-Montreal. The opening of this new expert studio will provide tools for content developers to enrich the experience and immersion of players. The proximity to Montreal, renowned universities and the quality of life found in Sherbrooke are criteria that contributed to the final choice.”

For its opening this fall, Eidos-Sherbrooke is targeting 20 dedicated full-time employees. The studio will start its activities “virtually” and the premises are scheduled to open in early 2021. Within 5 years, the team’s growth is estimated at nearly 100 employees in Sherbrooke, including seasoned professionals, veterans of the industry and related fields as well as graduates from Sherbrooke universities, as well as from all of Quebec and Canada and internationally.

 The region at the heart of recruitment

Today, more than ever, the studio is focusing on the regions to pursue its controlled growth and consolidate its teams. For Julien Bouvrais, CTO of Eidos-Montreal and head of Studio for Eidos-Sherbrooke, Estrie represents a foray into a very promising region: “Sherbrooke is an innovative city in our image!” It offers all the opportunities to develop professionally and personally, while taking advantage of the technological potential of the city. With the universities of Sherbrooke and Bishop’s offering cutting-edge programs in computer science and programming, the region seems to us a great place for continuing to develop our fields of expertise.”

The studio is primarily looking for programmers and a skillful mix of experts in diverse industries like graphics rendering, cloud computing, network administration, and more. Applicants can submit their resume now: https://eidossherbrooke.com.

Video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2qI3gB8IsE

Driving technological innovation

The studio will capitalize on the almost endless possibilities of new processes such as cloud computing, real-time geo-morphing, voxel-based raytracing and multi-node game engines. These technologies in a video game context will allow creating infinitely customizable, highly realistic and real-time environments, in addition to testing high-performance simulations for several users simultaneously. “With our establishment in Sherbrooke, we want to offer something else, an environment and working conditions that foster creativity and innovation,” adds Julien Bouvrais.

Eidos-Sherbrooke can count on the collaboration and support of the City of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke Innopole and the University of Sherbrooke. Several projects are already planning to be carried out in collaboration with the latter, notably in research and development.

Partner quotes 

Mr. Steve Lussier, Mayor of Sherbrooke

“We are very proud of the materialization of this project, which highlights Sherbrooke’s great strengths, namely a rich collaboration between the various players in the field, as well as a significant dynamism of research in our universities. Welcoming an international company such as Eidos also strengthens the credibility of Sherbrooke as a city of innovation, a positioning that is intended to be in line with the vision of the City of Sherbrooke, announced last November. Thus, we welcome Eidos, and also wish them much success in the Eastern Townships.”

Mrs. Josée Fortin, Executive Director of Sherbrooke Innopole

“Sherbrooke was able to position itself differently from the other competing regions thanks to its innovative side. With the collaboration of the business partnership group of the University of Sherbrooke, we were able to highlight the capacities of our ecosystem to support Eidos in the development of new technologies; artificial intelligence, solutions for massive online gaming, real-time gaming, and even quantum computing could be among the R&D projects worked locally over the next few years, creating new quality jobs in Sherbrooke.”

Pr Vincent Aimez, Vice-President Partnerships and Knowledge Transfer at the University of Sherbrooke

“The University of Sherbrooke is proud to join its forces with those of Eidos. This partnership of choice will contribute to the experiential training in excellent conditions of our students, who will become a highly specialized workforce to meet the needs of this growing industry. Also, the implementation of research projects in Sciences, Engineering and Literature and Human Sciences, in particular with our School of Music, will promote the development of new advanced technologies in the field of video games. Fruitful collaborations may also emerge with college establishments, thanks to the exemplary coordination of the regional higher education center of Estrie.”

About Eidos-Sherbrooke

Eidos-Sherbrooke ™ is an expert studio dedicated to driving the technological innovation of Eidos-Montréal™ (member of the Square Enix® group of companies) studio renowned for its work on the Deus Ex® franchise and the latest installment in the Tomb Raider® series. Through research and development, Eidos-Sherbrooke endeavours to explore, test and apply various technologies to support the creation of experiences, universes, and emotions for players. The studio will be home to top-level technical expertise recruited from universities, as well as local and international talent collaborating and together imagining the video games of tomorrow. https://eidossherbrooke.com

About Eidos-Montréal

Eidos-Montréal™ (a SQUARE ENIX® studio) is focused on creating immersive and captivating experiences. For the last decade, the development teams at Eidos-Montréal have orchestrated the successful reboot of the DEUS EX® series (Deus Ex: Human Revolution®, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided®), released the latest entry in the THIEF® franchise, and have also played a key role in the development of the award-winning TOMB RAIDER® series. To ensure its creative vision can be realized in-game, the studio has developed its own cutting-edge technology, the Dawn Engine®. The studio also provides technical support for Square Enix operations around the world, including research and development, quality assurance, and playtests.

About Square Enix Inc

Square Enix, Inc. develops, publishes, distributes and licenses SQUARE ENIX®, EIDOS® and TAITO® branded entertainment content throughout the Americas as part of the Square Enix group of companies. Square Enix, Inc. is affiliated with a global network of leading development studios such as Crystal Dynamics® and Eidos Montréal™. The Square Enix group of companies boasts a valuable portfolio of intellectual property including: FINAL FANTASY®, which has sold over 149 million units worldwide; DRAGON QUEST®, which has sold over 80 million units worldwide; TOMB RAIDER®, which has sold over 75 million units worldwide; and the legendary SPACE INVADERS®. Square Enix, Inc. is a U.S.-based, wholly owned subsidiary of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd. More information on Square Enix, Inc. can be found at https://square-enix-games.com

Source: Eidos-Montréal™