Avalanche Studios opens new Montreal studio

Avalanche Studios has set up a new studio in Montreal, Canada. The opening of its new building follows its recent acquisition of Monster Closet Games, which has been fully integrated into the Swedish developer and serves as its fifth global office. 

Over the years, Avalanche has established studios in Stockholm (its primary headquarters), New York, Liverpool, and Malmo. But unlike the Liverpool or Malmo offshoots, Avalanche Montreal has no primary goal beyond "joining the development of current and future IPs."

For Avalanche Studios Group CEO Stefanía Halldórsdóttir, setting up shop in Montreal is "a fantastic way to start our new chapter." Montreal is a key city for game development, and nearly every major publisher has a studio in the city, meaning Avalanche has a large pool to draw talent from.  

Monster Closet was formed in 2021 by industry veterans Graeme Jennings, Mickael Labat, JC Guyot, Thomas Félix, and Thomas Simon. Across their industry experience, the five men have worked on franchises such as Halo, Far Cry, and Assassin's Creed. 

"From the very first moment we met, we knew that Avalanche Studios Group would be a perfect fit for us," wrote Jennings, Monster Closet's CEO. "Becoming part of such a legacy and contributing to its continuation is a dream come true."

Earlier in October, over 100 Avalanche staff (out of a then-500 headcount) successfully unionized, and are presently bargaining with management over their contract. One potential bargaining topic is employing a four-day work week policy at the developer.

Avalanche's worker-related moves come ahead of its upcoming co-op game Contraband. The title will be its first new game in over five years; the last game it lead development on was 2018's Just Cause 4. It co-developed Rage 2 with id Software, which released the following year.