Square Enix Looking To Set Up Second Canadian Studio

With the Eidos Montreal studio revealing release dates for its upcoming first-person adventure game Deus Ex: Human Revolution earlier this month, the Square Enix-owned company may soon be joined by a second Canadian studio. Square Enix is considering setting up a new studio in either Vancouver, Montreal or Toronto, reports French newspaper La Presse. The publisher is looking to make use of the Canadian tax credits, along with government subsidies from wherever it decides to set up its second studio. However, apparently other areas are also interested in housing the new development setup, including Raleigh, North Carolina, Atlanta, Georgia, and Orlando, Florida. A representative from Square Enix said that the decision will be made in May as to which city the new development house will settle down in, with the new studio opening sometime next year. Earlier this year, Square Enix posted a 77 per cent fall in profits for the first nine months of the 2010 fiscal year. Yoichi Wada, president and representative director at Square Enix, attributed the fall in earnings to "intensifying competition in the console game market."