Amazon recruits former Rainbow Six Siege devs for new studio
Working on an original multiplayer IP.
Amazon Games is opening a new studio in Canada - and it's being helmed by a bunch of former Rainbow Six Siege devs.
Based in Montreal, the studio will focus on making original AAA games, starting with a new online multiplayer IP (which probably explains why the ex-Rainbow Six Siege devs have been brought in). Head of production Luc Bouchard, creative director Xavier Marquis, head of product Alexandre Remy and content director Romain Rimokh all previously worked at Ubisoft Montreal as the core team behind Rainbow Six. Here they are talking about leaving the Rainbow Six team back in late 2019:
In a statement, creative director Xavier Marquis said the team "couldn't be more excited" to start the studio.
"Building upon eight years of experience with Siege, we are excited to start with a blank page and the creative freedom to create a completely unique experience in the multiplayer space," Marquis said. "From our first discussion, we felt a true connection with the people at Amazon Games, their approach to gaming and the sheer amount of knowledge, expertise and technology available there."
Amazon now owns a total of four studios (with others based in Seattle, Orange County and San Diego), but the company has struggled to find success in the games industry over the last few years. Its first major title, Breakaway, was cancelled in 2018 - while last June Amazon had to pull its struggling shooter Crucible back into closed beta (before it was then cancelled in October). The company also laid off dozens of employees in the midst of E3 2019 (via Kotaku). Upcoming MMO New World is releasing this August, but it's already faced some questions about its use of colonial imagery. Hopefully the new Montreal studio will help get things back on track.