Koei Creates New Canadian Studio

Officials from Japanese publisher and developer Koei have announced the formation of Koei Canada, Inc., which has already begun development of two titles for the PlayStation 3. The studio is currently staffed by a team of thirty artists, programmers, designers and support staff, but this is expected to increase to between 150 and 200 employees over the next few years. Team members based in the new Toronto studio will also be given the opportunity to work at Koei’s other studios in Asia and Europe. With Canada proving an increasingly popular location for publisher/developers, including Electronic Arts and Ubisoft, Koei officials claim that the company’s new studio is necessary to establish a presence in the global market, with products tailored to different regions. In Japan the company enjoys considerable success with the Shin Sangoku Musou (aka Dynasty Warriors) series and related titles, but the first new game from Koei Canada will be futuristic aerial combat racing game Fatal Inertia. The company has not revealed details of the second game in development but Fatal Inertia is being developed as a launch title for the PlayStation 3. (Koei has previously announced a number of other PlayStation 3 titles from its existing studios, including Ni-Oh, Blade Storm: Hundred Years War and Mahjong Taikai). "Toronto is a vibrant city with a rich cultural mosaic that provides us with the necessary talent to develop games for a global marketplace," said Koei's founder and chief advisor Yoichi Erikawa, a prominent figure in the Japanese industry usually known by his nom de plume of Kou Shibusawa. "As a game creator, I am excited to be here and to work firsthand on the Fatal Inertia project. I feel that it will be a top launch title for the PlayStation 3."