TiMi, the mobile game studio responsible for Call of Duty: Mobile, has opened a brand-new studio in North America; TiMi Montreal. This new triple-A game studio will join TiMi Seattle and TiMi Los Angeles as divisions of the China-based TiMi Studio Group. The group also announced that Sinjin Bain, a veteran in the gaming industry, would become executive producer at TiMi’s Los Angeles studio.
This new studio will focus on the creation and development of original IP’s, fully supported by the global developmental resources already established for TiMi. Specifically, the studio is tasked with the creation of triple-A and open-world video games for players to explore on multiple platforms. The Montreal-based studio will work autonomously to forge its own creative path and establish a fully functioning team by 2022. Though, the studio plans to continue work on already licensed games along with new IPs.
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In speaking with GamesBeat, TiMi Studio Group’s head of global game development Vincent Gao shared a little bit about the difficulties that come with opening several studios at once, but TiMi is constantly improving how they handle things: “Our presence in North America has been several years in the making so to reach this point and share this news with you is great progress. We’ll keep working at it so we have more to share soon.”
While TiMi is known for its work on mobile games like Call of Duty: Mobile, Honor of Kings, and the upcoming Pokemon Unite, the open-world game being developed at the new studio will be built for consoles and PC. Gao explains the reasoning behind this sharing that, “The console audience is a leading tastemaker for our industry. It’s important to respect them and make games they care about… Our ability to make triple-A experiences for mobile was not only a success. We learned the real value of working with the developers who create these IPs from the start.”
Along with the new studio, TiMi announced that Sinjin Bain would become executive producer for the Los Angeles studio. Having served many roles in the gaming industry, including Vice President at EA Partners, Bain will work to establish a “management infrastructure across North America”.
TiMi is a subsidiary of Tencent, the world’s largest video game vendor. Last year alone, the China-based company invested in or purchased 31 game companies, more than any other studio. Clearly this is a company that loves video game, so it will be exciting to see what this new Montreal studio produces.
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