MONTREAL -- Sébastien Puel has seen Montreal become a nerve centre for video games over the past 17 years. According to the new general manager of Google's first gaming studio, there is no limit to the growth of this thriving sector in the Quebec metropolis.

"Everything has changed enormously. All that is needed to create a game exists in Montreal: the people who design the tools, the people who program, the big publishers and the small creators," said Puel. "It's really amazing to have everything in one place. It's pretty unique in the world. And maybe the only thing that was missing was a 'first party' studio."

The mission of Montreal's Google Studio is to design exclusive content for the new technology-based Stadia cloud-based gaming service. Jade Raymond, a well-knownfigure in the video game industry and native of Montreal, has been placed at the helm of the company.

The Montreal studio is recruiting its team. In a Google Canada blog interview, Puel said the company received thousands of applications in just a few months despite a limited number of positions.

Puel has first-hand knowledge of Montreal's reputation in the video game industry for the design of high-budget, triple-A titles, including the Assassin's Creed franchise. Most of the titles of this popular series have been designed in the Montreal studio of the French company Ubisoft. Puel himself was the producer of Assassin's Creed II

Key players such as Square-Enix, Bethesda, EA and WB Games are all in Montreal. Behavior Interactive, creator of the best-selling survival horror game Dead by Daylight, has