The Mediterranean city of Montpellier is one of the hotbeds of video games, hosting an ecosystem ranging from independent studios to the gaming giant Ubisoft, from role-playing games to serious games.
It's all here in Montpellier! Action, adventure, role-playing games, strategy, reflection, stimulation… All genres are very well-represented. The Mediterranean city is a stronghold for the video game industry.
The gaming giant Ubisoft, which established itself here in 1993, decided to invest – a rare occurrence – in the construction of its own premises. Many studios have emerged in its wake, several created by some of Ubisoft's own talents, others having been attracted by the presence of a particularly dynamic ecosystem that unites all the different components of the industry.
Artisan Studios is among the most recent arrivals. Founded in 2016 in Paris, this company specializing in the creation of 2D RPGs (role-playing games) had moved to Quebec, before returning to France and setting its sights on Montpellier. Another newcomer is Fireplace Games, which chose to set up at the Halle Tropisme facility. "We wanted to be in a major gaming city, but we were also looking for attractive rental rates, a good quality of life, and a strong cultural spirit. Part of our team was already here, so Montpellier was a natural choice,” explains Anaïs Simonnet, CEO of the studio, which is making its first game with support from the specialized investment fund Kowloon Nights. Anaïs Simonnet has since become the president of PushStart, the association based in Montpellier which brings together video game professionals in the Occitanie region.
These arrivals are not the result of chance, but a demonstration of an undeniable vitality. In the Montpellier Métropole area, more than 600 people work in the video game sector and the industry is attracted here by the communicative creativity of its talents. This was the case for The Game Bakers, founded in 2010 by Audrey Leprince and Émeric Thoa. The two former Ubisoft employees wanted to head out on their own to make games designed to "boost people's spirits."
The duo was right. After the success of Squids, Squids Wild West, Combo Crew, Squids Odyssey, and the famous Furi (over 700,000 copies sold), they released Haven in December 2020. A "relaxed" role-playing game that nevertheless required four years of development and mobilized a full-time team of about twenty people. Well-received by critics, Haven is destined for further success. It was the same for Unruly Heroes, the first achievement of Magic Design Studios, also founded by three former Ubisoft employees.
Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole’s involvement is crucial, as healthy competition contributes to the dynamics of the Montpellier ecosystem. The public authority supports studios, organizes events such as MICC (now ICONIC), and supports business creation and innovation. For example, before becoming a mobile video game star and being acquired by the giant Webadia, Scimob had benefited from assistance provided by Montpellier BIC, an internationally recognized incubator, which helped accelerate their growth. For their new studio, its creator Gaël Bonnafous has once again called on Montpellier BIC’s services (see callout).
DigixArt and Alt Shift are two other exemplary examples. Also incubated at Montpellier BIC, they are working their way to the top. In December 2020, DigixArt announced the game Road 96 with a teaser that was very well-received by critics, as was the case for Crying Suns, the latest addition by Alt Shift. Crying Suns was been a real hit on Kickstarter, obtaining 300% of the target funding.
These successes contribute to increasing exposure for the Montpellier area ecosystem. This is why Plug In Digital, the fourth leading French publisher in terms of revenue, chose to settle here. "The video game sector is very dynamic here," confirms Francis Ingrand, its founder. A veritable gem, Plug In Digital collaborates with another major Montpellier studio, Pixel Reef, founded by Éric Chahi, creator of the legendary game Another World.
In the Montpellier Métropole area, the video game industry also includes designers of tools that are widely used by studios, such as Instant Terra developed by Wysilab. The company's founders, Marianne Calva and Alexis Vaisse, were faced with the challenge of handling sets and scenery, which are very time-consuming to create, some of which can cover several hundred square kilometres. They decided to develop software that simplifies the work. Instant Terra can generate game play sets 10 to 15 times faster than anything before, while also offering the added bonus of being able to handle very large 3D terrains. A true feat... and Wysilab continues to work on improving the software!
Serious games are also well-represented in the Montpellier Métropole. NaturalPad and Genious Healthcare studios know this to be true. Based in Montpellier, the latter has developed a range of therapeutic games and medical devices that are brought together on a dedicated platform, curapy.com. The seriousness of their approach and the therapeutic virtues of their creations, designed with specialists, quickly attracted attention. In 2019, the Swiss unicorn MindMaze, specialized in neuro-technologies and therapeutic games, acquired the company.
The overall result is clear: the video game ecosystem is a winner in the Montpellier Métropole area. Studios, now it's your turn!
Gaël Bonnafous, from Scimob to Elia Games
Having sold Scimob to the media giant Webedia in 2016 for 10 M€, Gaël Bonnafous is launching a new studio, also specializing in smartphone games. Elia Games was created in January 2020 in Montpellier. With global ambitions, Elia Games will leverage its talent to support environmental awareness and social issues. And since there is no reason to change a winning strategy, Gaël Bonnafous also wanted Montpellier BIC to assist his new studio. It should come as no surprise that his project was indeed approved after examination by the selection committee.