Henning Kosmack, Co-Founder and CEO, MegaZebra
The company wanted to open a second studio in North America to accelerate its growth. They looked at many locations in Canada and the United States, but it was the people in Montreal that made the difference.
We hired our first employee in Montréal in 2017.
We had been thinking about opening a second North American studio for some time, so that we could grow faster. We looked at many locations in Canada and the U.S., and it was the people in Montréal who made the difference: first, the supply of qualified professionals in our field; second, the ability to find a manager locally, and third, the people from Montréal International, with whom we had been in contact for a long time. They also introduced us to Québec’s economic development agency, Investissement Québec International.
It is of course another important component that may be very relevant in the future. Our industry often needs to scale up quickly, so access to financial support is a strong argument for locating here.
We receive the multimedia tax credit, of course, and we are very happy that such programs exist. Things are already going well on a number of fronts, including recruiting. If there’s any room for improvement, it might be in making it even easier to bring qualified professionals to Québec.
Montréal is a super location for game companies. There is a broad ecosystem and a very dynamic exchange of talent among studios. It's a good idea to start small first and then expand operations gradually. We received full support for our plans from Investissement Québec, whether we were recruiting one person or an entire team.
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