History
On 12 June 2000, Gameloft announced the creation of its global interactive content development center in Montreal, particularly for online games. The initiative was supported by the Quebec government through tax credits covering up to 50% of new employees' salaries. [2]
The first game developed by Gameloft Montreal was Gulo's Tale , released in 2003 on J2ME. [3]
In 2004, Gameloft Montreal released the first game in the Asphalt Racing franchise, called Asphalt: Urban GT . [4] [5] The game is in three dimensions, offers nine circuits inspired by real places (including Paris, New York and Las Vegas) and has 23 vehicles from major brands such as Aston Martin, Lamborghini and Audi. [6]
In 2008, the studio grew from 230 employees to over 300, and continues to recruit. [7]
2009 marked the release of two titles developed by Gameloft Montreal, [5] that became the first installments of Gameloft's major franchises, namely Dungeon Hunter , [8] and Modern Combat: Sandstorm . [9]
2010 was one of the most dynamic years for the studio since Gameloft Montreal released no less than four major games that year: Asphalt 6: Adrenaline , [10] Dungeon Hunter II , [11] , Gangstar: Miami Vindication , [12] and Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus . [13]
On 27 June 2012, Asphalt 7: Heat marked Gameloft Montreal's final contribution to the Asphalt series. Subsequently, the development of the Asphalt franchise was entrusted to Gameloft Barcelona, which has been managing it ever since, including in 2025. [14] Asphalt 7: Heat has received generally positive reviews, with an average score of 83 out of 100 on Metacritic. [15]
In 2013, the studio released the open-world Gangstar Vegas, which was a huge success. The game is still receiving updates in 2025. [16]
In 2014, Gameloft Montreal employed 415 people and recruited massivelyt [17] , The following year the studio released Dungeon Hunter V. [18]
Gameloft Montreal then experienced several commercial setbacks from 2016, notably with Modern Combat Versus [ de; es; fr; ko; lld ] (2017), Dungeon Hunter Champions (2018) and Overdrive City (2019) [19] , three online games whose servers were shut down after a few years, due to a lack of audience reach. Unlike other Gameloft studios that underwent major restructuring during this period, Gameloft Montreal was not subject to mass layoffs. [20] [21]
In 2021, the studio released Lego Star Wars: Castaways exclusively on Apple Arcade. [22] The game has generally received very good reviews. [23] [24]
In September 2022, Gameloft Montreal is launching Disney Dreamlight Valley Early Access on PC and consoles. [25] The game far exceeded commercial expectations, so much so that Gameloft's overall revenue jumped 48% in the July-September 2022 period compared to the previous year. [26] At the same time, the game is receiving very good feedback, with an average of 90% positive on Steam. [27]
Following this success, the entire group shifted its focus to PC and console games, with Gameloft Montreal transforming into a studio 100% dedicated to PC and console games. [26]
In 2024, Gameloft Montreal announced it would be developing a game set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, without giving a specific release date. The game will be released on PC and consoles. [28] [29] [30] [31]
