Japanese social gaming company Gree has announced it will soon open a 10-employee game development studio in downtown Vancouver.
Gree has a worldwide network of 230 million users who play the company's free mobile games.
B.C. is home to an expanding cluster of videogame studios aiming to capitalize on new trends in mobile devices, social networks and digital distribution.
In the past year, DeNA/Gameview opened a new studio in Vancouver while Gamehouse and Microsoft expanded into Victoria.
Interactive digital media and visual effects sectors are a major part of Vancouver's economy, employing more than 25,000 employees in 1,300 companies.
All is not well in the gaming sector, however.
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson plans to bring a motion to council this week to pledge support for the sector.
"Other jurisdictions in Canada and around the world are launching significant new strategies to increase their competitiveness for digital media investment," the Mayor said in a release.
Vancouver's Radical Entertainment shut down last month after lacklustre sales for its Prototype 2 game. Rockstar's Vancouver office then closed in early July.
