A new study examines how Quebec has maintained its massive video game sector, which contributes $1.4 billion to the province’s economy annually.
The report was commissioned by La Guilde du jeu vidéo du Quebec (the non-profit organization representing Quebec’s gaming industry) with funding from Montreal’s Behaviour Interactive (Dead by Daylight). Conducted by Montreal’s Habo Studio, the study examines the key factors that have sustained the provincial gaming industry since the ’90s.
To start, Quebec is home to over 280 studios, making it one of the top five game development hubs in the world. Per 2021 data from the Entertainment Software Association of Canada, Canada has around 937 active studios, meaning Quebec accounts for over one-quarter of the country’s total game dev workforce. On top of that, the study notes that 86 percent of the studios are Quebec-owned.
This means that for all of the big-name international companies that have locations in Quebec, including Ubisoft (Assassin’s Creed), Warner Bros. (Gotham Knights) and EA (Dead Space), there are many more that are independent or locally-owned, including Behaviour, Sabotage (Sea of Stars), Red Barrels (Outlast) and Manavoid (Rainbow Billy).
Besides lucrative tax credits to encourage game development in the province, the study notes that the province’s links to both the United States and Europe, as well as high standards of living and multiculturalism, help make it a natural location for expansion. For example, Ubisoft Montreal, one of the oldest and biggest game development studios in the world, opened in the province in 1997 as an expansion to Ubisoft’s early France-based operations. Behaviour was another early key player in the Quebec gaming industry in the ’90s.
On the subject of attracting talent, it remains to be seen how Quebec’s controversial new language law, which establishes French as the only official and common language of the province, may impact the local games sector. Members of the gaming industry, on top of those in other sectors, have expressed concerns that it could prevent new talent from being attracted to studios in the province. This wasn’t covered in the study.
The study also points out that 80 percent of Quebec video game employees are graduates of digital creation or video game programs. Part of this can be attributed to a strong network of schools in the province, including Polytechnique Montréal, McGill and École de technologie supérieure. Altogether, there are over 43 education programs in the province dedicated to video games.
Regarding qualifications, 98 percent of the study’s respondents cited advanced technical skills as a defining characteristic of their teams and employers. Also scoring high were team spirit (93 percent), mutual support (89 percent) and curiosity.
Altogether, the study found that nearly 15,000 Quebec residents are directly employed by the video game industry. Speaking to Habo, 87 percent of those surveyed reported being highly satisfied and fulfilled in their careers. Further, 97 percent said they see themselves continuing to build their career in games, with 95 percent noting they’d recommend their employer to their peers.
Habo says it conducted the study earlier this year based on quantitative analysis of 520 Quebec employees in the video game development and production sector, as well as 20 interviews with with local and international industry experts.
The Quebec study follows a recent survey from several global gaming bodies, including the Entertainment Software Association of Canada, about the benefits games have on those who play them. More on those findings can be found here.
That said, it hasn’t been a great week for the Canadian gaming industry. In Quebec, Ubisoft Montreal laid off nearly 100 people as part of a reorganization, following thousands of layoffs this year at developers across the world. Meanwhile, outside of Quebec, laid off BioWare Edmonton developers protested outside the studio this week after suing for severance pay.
Image credit: Behaviour Interactive
MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.
