The Game Industry is rapidly growing and changing. Just an hour drive north of Burlington, the industry growth in Quebec represents a great opportunity for students graduating with a degree in Game Programming from Champlain College.
The following items have been translated from a recent report on the Quebec Game Industry:
- In 2011, there were 82 companies related to the video game industry in Quebec
- Since 2010, there has been an increase in hiring of around 21% (close to 8000 employees total, for 55 companies who answered)
- They expect an increase of 15% this year (2012)
- Since 2002, employment in this sector has increased by 564%
- 76% of the companies specialize in game production
- 16,5% in software development (That includes Autodesk, which provides the 3D art software (3DMax, Maya) used in the majority of games, films and design industries (including aerospace)!
- 7,5% in QA and test
- 79% of these industries are in Montreal, 10% in Quebec City
- 90% of employees in this industry are employed by big companies, but 55% of the industries are smaller (less than 50 employees)
- Art and programming counts for 46% of the jobs
- 52% of the jobs require a university degree, 28% ask for what we call a college degree (pre-University)
- In 71% of the cases, employers request from 2 to 7 years experience in the video game industry.
- Programming jobs are the most difficult to fill – they represent 45% of the most difficult jobs to fill.
Industry is changing
- Tablets and intelligent phones, multiplication of supports
- Aging and gender variety of the gaming population (wider number of players)
- More changes: direct distribution, cloud, indies, user generated content, new consoles coming up soon, augmented realities, gamification
Original Article (Translated by Genevieve Lord, Director Champlain College Montreal Office)
