Square Enix has announced the expansion of Deus Ex developer Eidos Montreal and the opening of a second studio, Square Enix Montreal, in 2012.
The Human Revolution outfit will gain 100 new staff, "driving work on a third AAA project at the studio, alongside the Deus Ex and Thief franchises". Square Enix Montreal, meanwhile, will account for 150 jobs and work on "AAA games for tomorrow's audiences". Sounds suspiciously like an Xbox 720 project to us.
The new studio's first effort will be "a new premium quality game" in the Hitman franchise. It'll be one of several Hitman titles crafted under the Montreal banner. "This further investment will expand the vision for the Hitman franchise and mean that two studios will now be working on future Hitman games," commented Square Enix in a release.
IO Interactive is developing the next Hitman game, Hitman: Absolution, for release in 2012. Featuring a new Instincts enhanced vision mode, it should be a little less dependent on trial and error than Hitman: Blood Money.
Eidos Montreal's Thief 4 still needs a release date. What could that mysterious third project be?