Funcom opens Montréal studio

Funcom announced that it has opened a new development studio in Montréal, Canada, where the company says it will build a “strong and competent development team that will work on several games in the Funcom portfolio.” The company will seek out local talent and well as transplant exisiting talent into the studio going forward.

Funcom has over 320 employees from all corners of the world employed at the company’s offices in Norway, the US, China, and Switzerland. The company is responsible for Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures as well as the sci-fi themed MMO Anarchy Online. The company has developed more than 20 titles since its founding in 1993 including The Longest Journey and Dreamfall adventure games.

Funcom is currently working on the expansion pack for Age of Conan called Rise of the Godslayer as well as its new MMO The Secret World. Developers at the Montréal studio will play an important role in the development of both titles.

Pug Pharm gets NRC-IRAP funding, support

Canada-based social networking game developer Pug Pharm Productions has managed to score funding from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP). The funds, along with technical and business-oriented advisory services provided by NRC-IRAP, will enable Pug Pharm to develop the kind of games it envisions creating. The company’s focus is on the intersection between social networking applications and online games. Pug Pharm says that it is committed to developing online games that combine the engagement of traditional video games with the technologies of social networking applications. Pug Pharm is lead by Bocska—formerly of Radical/Vivendi, EA/BlackBox, Disney Interactive, and co-founder of Hothead Games.

NRC-IRAP works with small- and medium-sized Canadian firms, providing expertise and advice as well as potential funding in developing their ideas. Financial assistance for this project is a direct result of the Government of Canada’s Economic Action Plan outlined in Budget 2009. For more information check out www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca.

Ubisoft Opening Studio in Toronto

Ubisoft, developer of the Prince of Persia and Splinter Cell franchises, announced today that the Government of Ontario will be investing a large sum of money, CA$263 million, over the next ten years to help bring the large developer to Toronto. CEO of Ubisoft Montreal (and now Toronto) Yannis Mallat announced today - along with Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Minister of Economic Development and Trade Sandra Pupatello – that within the next few years, the software company will be setting up a new shop in Ontario. This move is hoped to be beneficial to both parties by tapping into the massive film-making industry for Ubisoft and creating hundreds of jobs for the people of Ontario.

This studio will mark the fourth development house opened by Ubisoft in Canada, which employs over 2,300 people across the country. In other news, Tom Clancy just bought a new house.

800 attend GDC Canada

Think Services Game Group and Reboot Communications announced that the Game Developers Conference Canada (GDC Canada) saw more than 800 game industry professionals attend the event last week at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Center. Building on  the 2008 Vancouver International Game Summit (VIGS), GDC Canada (a replacement for that event) doubled attendance numbers from the previous year’s event. GDC Canada returns to the VCEC May 6-7, 2010.

For complete information on future Game Developers Conferences including, GDC Europe, GDC Austin, GDC China, and GDC 2010 visit www.gdconf.com.

GDC Canada Opens Today

The Game Developers Conference Canada kicked off today at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Center (VCEC). Our own Scott Jones is giving a panel there - which I suspect he’ll talk about at some point - and he should be occasionally blogging about other highlights from the event. GDC Canada is a bit more low key than its North American counterpart, which is a good thing, because it means more face time with actual developers, movers and shakers for those fortunate enough to be able to attend.

Building on the success of the Vancouver International Games Summit, GDC Canada is a two day forum for Canadian developers to share knowledge, and engage in sessions with leaders of Canada’s game development community. Don Mattrick, senior vice president, Interactive Entertainment Business, Microsoft, kicked off GDC Canada with a keynote address entitled The Evolution of the Canadian Game Industry: A Conversation with Don Mattrick.

For a full list of all the activities, check out www.gdc-canada.com.

Microsoft Acquires BigPark

Microsoft has purchased BigPark, a game development studio in Vancouver, Canada, according to VentureBeat - just mere days after it was revealed that the company cut 100 jobs from its in-game advertising company Massive. The Vancouver was founded by Don Mattrick (who now heads up Microsoft’s Xbox biz), Wil Mozell, Erik Kiss and Hanno Lemke in 2007. Many of the company’s employees worked for EA Vancouver on such titles as FIFA, NBA Street, and SSX. The company has a headcount of 50 employees.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The studio will work on an Xbox 360 exclusive title for Microsoft, which we suspect may be revealed at E3 in Los Angeles next month. In the new food chain, Lemke will report directly to Microsoft Games Studios head Phil Spencer, who reports to Mattrick.

If anything today’s news proves that Microsoft has a strategy going forward to take on the Wii and PS3, though its previous studio acquisitions ultimately turned into blood baths: Ensemble Studios, ACES Studios, and FASA Interactive no longer exists, and who knows what the future holds for Rare and Lionhead in the long run. More as it develops, as always.

BioWare Founders Keynote GDC Canada

BioWare founders Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk will deliver a keynote address at the 2009 Game Developers Conference Canada (GDC Canada), organizer Think Services announced. The keynote, “Emotionally Engaging Narrative: Gaming’s New Frontier,” will take place on the morning of May 13, 2009. GDC Canada will take at the place Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre May 12-13, 2009.

Having the good doctors keynote the event makes sense, given that they run one of the most influential studios in the country. The company is currently working on Dragon Age: Origins, a fantasy RPG set for release on the PC and consoles.

You can learn more about this two day event by visiting www.gdc-canada.com.