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“We made the decision (to move to Calgary) predicated on a fairly high degree of confidence it would happen,” Warner said. “If we don’t get it (government support), what it means is we will grow considerably slower.”

The new Calgary studio, dubbed New World North and slated to open in Inglewood in May, comes in anticipation of what the company believes will be sustained growth after the successful PC launch of Insurgency: Sandstorm and an upcoming console version slated for 2019. Employees working at the Calgary location will provide post-release support for Insurgency: Sandstorm as well as development support for an unannounced future title.

Warner said the Calgary studio will start with 15 employees, most of whom are already working for New World Interactive in other locations. But he said over the next three years he hopes to expand to up to 50 employees.

“That will be predicated on getting the necessary support that we really do hope for and I would argue we need in order to achieve our objectives,” he said.

While Calgary has a very small pool of talent when it comes to video game design, Warner said New World wants to do everything it can to grow the sector, from working directly with post-secondary institutions to fostering talent through incubator programs.

“If the talent pool doesn’t yield what we want, then we’ll look at bringing in what we need. But I’m not looking to bring in non-Canadians,” Warner said. “I want to hire as many Canadians as I can, and primarily as many Calgarians as I can.”