Square Enix Setting Up Another Montreal Studio to Work on New Hitman Game

Square Enix has confirmed that it's going to set up another studio in Montreal, Canada, besides the existing Eidos Montreal, called, what else, Square Enix Montreal, whose first project will be a new installment in the Hitman series.

Square Enix has definitely diversified its projects since acquiring Eidos back in 2009, and its last big release, Deus Ex: Human Revolution from the Eidos Montreal studio, has prompted it to invest more heavily in the Canadian city.

After confirming that Eidos Montreal will see its team increase by another 100 positions, the Japanese company has also revealed that a whole new studio, Square Enix Montreal, will be formed sometime next year.

The new developer will have around 150 staff, under the leadership of Square Enix London's Lee Singleton, and will start work on a new project in the Hitman franchise, after IO Interactive, the creator of the series, releases Hitman Absolution next year.

"Montreal is a vibrant center of game creators with industry-leading talent, and one of the most important bases of our global network of game development within the Square Enix Group," said the company's president and chief executive officer Yoichi Wada.

"We believe in creating studios where passion for our games and gaming runs throughout and Eidos Montreal is testament to this vision,"said Phil Rogers, president and chief executive officer of Square Enix Europe. "The start up of a second studio brings a huge advantage to our business; we will nurture two separate studios with their own strengths, culture and appeal."

Besides this all-new studio, Eidos Montreal will also be expanded with extra facilities for motion tracking, research and development, online and social connectivity, as well as in-house voice recording.

The extra 100 staff will also help the studio work on another project, besides the follow up to Deus Ex and the Thief 4 titles.