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Hudson said the new space was designed with growth in mind and the goal of the company is to continue to expand in a sustainable way.

He praised both the city and the province for the level of support they received, specifically the Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit, which provides 25 per cent refundable tax credit for labour costs.

“Things like the tax credit are critical because most of the locations we compete with globally have very substantial technology-based tax credits,” he said. “For us to be even on a level playing field that tax credit really helps us to get there. Alberta and Edmonton governments really recognize technology is a major growth opportunity for us. Especially here in downtown Edmonton, things are changing really fast and it is a great opportunity to bring people in from really anywhere in the world where they can look around and see this as a place to come and join a company like BioWare or start something new.”

Mayor Don Iveson said seeing 300 jobs move to the downtown core shows a real level of confidence in the city’s revitalization strategy.

“Seeing these 300 folks join us downtown, welcoming them to the neighbourhood, is just a great vote of confidence from the parent company in California that Edmonton is a great place for them to continue investing and grow and continue to develop gaming products for the world,” he said.

“The city has done its part by doing a lot of investments in our downtown, not just the Ice District and the arena but enhancements to public transit, enhancements to parks and the public realm — all of them are designed to bring people and business downtown. And it’s working.”