Frima Studio
A series of developments that further solidify its growth.
QUEBEC CITY – Wednesday, June 30, 2010 – Frima Studio, one of Canada’s premiere videogame development houses, announced today a series of developments that further solidify it as a growing, major player within the Canadian game development arena. From winning a coveted Octas award to receiving hefty government funding and continuing to create jobs in Quebec, Frima Studio continues to make a name for itself, not only in Canada but throughout the international gaming scene.
Frima Studio walked away from the Octas awards ceremony (held on May 29 at the Centre des Congrès de Québec) with the award for “Commercial Success.” Organized by the Réseau Action TI to commend amazing achievements in the information technology industry in the province of Quebec, the Octas are held annually. Frima Studio also holds the rare distinction of being a perfect three-for-three for Octas nominations and wins – the studio was nominated and won in 2007 for GalaXseeds and in 2009 for Build-A-Bearville, both MMOGs and both in the “Game and Animation” category.
In addition to a third Octas, Frima Studio was the recent beneficiary of a $2 million joint-investment between Frima and the Quebec government to further employee training. Mr. Jean Charest, Premier of Quebec, and Mr. Sam Hamad, Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity, Minister of Labour and Minister responsible for the Capitale-Nationale region, selected Frima as the recipient of the investment due to its planned creation of 147 new jobs over the next three years and the maintenance of 201 pre-existing production-oriented jobs that have been created by Frima since 2003.
“Quebec has become a destination of choice for many multinationals in the interactive entertainment industry,” said Mr. Charest. “We are known around the world for our creativity and dynamism in that field. This fairly recent reality is owed to people of vision and passion; to people who get involved, and who dare take the necessary risks to build the companies that will, over the years, become symbols of pride for us all."
As a testament to this growth, Frima Studio ranks first on L'Actualité's annual list of the fastest-growing companies in Quebec, with a growth of 3,002% between 2004 and 2009. This is the second time in as many years Frima has topped this prestigious list, which chronicles the 20 companies that experienced the greatest increase in sales figures. Frima is the first company to earn this distinction two years in a row.
"We couldn’t be more proud to be the first company to top the L'Actualité's list two years in a row, and it would not have been possible without our fantastic employees," declared Steve Couture, CEO of Frima Studio. “These types of honors and recognitions, along with the government backing, prove to us that we’re going about game development in the right way, and we’re elated to be able to continue to do what we love, the way we want.”
Frima recently released its first Facebook game, Rock Paper Sumo, which features a brilliant twist on the classic Rock Paper Scissors game formula and a sumo-tastic, hilarious art scheme. It is also working on several soon-to-be-launched PlayStation minis, which are playable on both PlayStation ® Network and PSP ® (PlayStation ® Portable) platforms, including Young Thor, which will require players to take on the role of Odin’s son and restore order to Asgard!
For more information about Frima Studio or any of its titles or projects, please visit www.frimastudio.com.
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About Frima Studio
Based in Quebec City, Frima Studio is a leading Canadian multiplatform game developer. Since 2003, the company has produced countless world-class products for the online, console, handheld, TV and mobile markets. On the leading edge of social gaming technology, Frima is focused on building the next-generation of massively multiplayer online games for children and adults alike. Frima’s clients include world-famous names such as Build-A-Bear Workshop, Electronic Arts, Warner Brothers and Nickelodeon. With over 250 artists and programmers, Frima produces high-caliber games that are as remarkably outstanding artistically as they are technologically. For more information, please visit www.frimastudio.com.