As Dual Universe closes in on a wider release, progress seems to be going well on the open-world sci-fi game. Dual Universe has been around since 2014, with tons of updates and polish being added in over time. The game is currently heading into a major phase of alpha testing, set to begin on Valentine’s Day 2019. The ambitious MMO is set to launch sometime in 2020.
And with this new phase for the MMO, comes some major expansion by the studio behind it. Novaquark wants and needs more staff to support the growing community, as well as to keep up consistent patches and content updates for their game, so now they’ve announced a new branch as part of a full expansion plan.
This first new expansion for the fledging company will be a new studio in Montreal. This new Novaquark Montreal branch will eventually hire on 50 people to support production on Dual Universe.
This new studio will be led by General Manager Stéphane D’Astous. Stéphane was a key alum from Eidos Montreal and Square Enix Montreal over the years, helping run those studios through some great game projects. He even previously served as Ubisoft Montreal’s Director of Operation. The new hire was genuinely happy to get in on Dual Universe, as he called it “a true honor” to join Novaquark Montreal at its inception.
“Working with a visionary genius like Jean-Christophe is a rare opportunity that I could not refuse. The game on which we will be working on, Dual Universe, is an immensely ambitious game that will change the way we experience and play video games,” Stéphane D’Astous added. “No other gaming studio in Montreal is working on this type of game, it’s a great addition to our city.”
It also appears that Novaquark’s main office are just as happy about the new studio as well, because they want to celebrate, and they’re going to do just that by holding a live demo of the MMO at the Montreal office on March 5th. If you are from the area and interested in attending, you can already register on Eventbrite.
