Quantic Dream, the creator of Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human, has announced its expansion as a developer with a new studio in Montreal, Canada [via IGN].
Originating from France in 1997, Quantic Dream set the bar in terms of cinematic gaming experiences. Titles like Heavy Rain on the PS3 play out like an interactive drama, offering a new take on gaming. In a conversation with IGN, Quantic Dream founder David Cage commented on the companies plans to expand.
“With this opening, we are following a long-term vision to seek the best and most experienced talents having specific expertise, people who are passionate and want to work on innovative and ambitious AAA games,” Cage said. “Our goal is not to expand, nor accelerate cadence and become a ‘factory’ with this new studio.”
The new Montreal studio will be managed by Stephanie D’Astous of Square Enix and Eidos Montreal fame. D’Astous added to Cage’s comments regarding the new location with the following:
“Time and schedule are obviously an important factor in developing AAA games, but please do not think by adding a second studio we will cut the dev phase in two. The ambition of our next game is great and we will release it when it is ready, as we have all other games that were released from Quantic Dream.”
Overall, the studio heads of Quantic Dream are adamant that the new studio won’t affect any existing development practices. D’Astous cemented this idea by stating that both locations would be “one unified body located in two regional hubs” working on “the same new unannounced AAA title.”
The general manager also added that they have “structured the relationship between the two entities so that they work together as one team with a distinctive core perimeter on both sides in order to build this project together.” Hopefully, this means that despite expanding, development teams at the studio won’t be subjected to crunch or any other practices that are a detriment to their work-life balance.
While we currently know absolutely nothing about the developer’s next big game, it’s shaping up to be a rather large project. Bringing on an extra team of developers might indicate the scale of the project, meaning we could be in for something that shakes up the genre.
Are you looking forward to the next game from the developer of Heavy Rain?
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Featured Image Credit: Quantic Dream