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| The new leadership team at Arrival is heading up the studio's expansion into Vancouver and Edmonton. |
By Jon Scarr
Big news for the Canadian industry as Arrival opens two flagship studios and brings on three major leaders to head up the team.
Arrival is growing. The company announced two new flagship studios in Vancouver and Edmonton. If you aren't familiar with the name, Arrival is the gaming division of Streamland Media and was previously known as Formosa Interactive. They don't just make their own games; they act as a co-development partner. Essentially, they’re the specialist team that the world's leading publishers hire to handle world-class audio, narrative, and creative services for some of the biggest franchises on your shelf.
You’ve likely already seen their work in recent hits like Helldivers II, Ghost of Yōtei, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
Arrival Sets Up Shop in Vancouver and Edmonton
The move into Canada is a big one for the studio's production capacity. Jeremie Voillot is taking the lead as the new Studio Head for Canada. His job is to build these teams from the ground up, and he has the track record to do it. Before joining Arrival, Voillot served as the Director of Sound Design at PlayStation Studios, leading a global team that shipped huge hits like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, God of War Ragnarök, and The Last of Us Part II.
He also spent over a decade at BioWare, where he was a veteran leader on the Mass Effect and Dragon Age franchises. These new locations give Arrival more room to help other studios across the globe. They work with everyone from giant publishers to small indie teams. When a big game needs extra help to get finished, they step in to provide that support. Having this kind of help available right here in Canada is a huge win for the local dev scene.
Leadership Growth in Audio and Dialogue
Phillip Kovats is coming on as the Senior Vice President and Head of Audio. He's spent over 25 years in the business and has helped shape the sound of heavyweight series like The Last of Us, Uncharted, and God of War. He's going to be looking at the overall sound strategy for everything Arrival touches, ensuring you get the best possible sound design in your games.
Leilani Ramirez is also joining as the Head of Dialogue. Her background includes supervising dialogue for major titles, so she knows exactly how to make a story land. Her focus is on how characters talk and how those narrative pipelines work. She's looking to combine human acting with new tools to make sure characters look and sound real when they're on your screen. Character-driven stories are more important than ever, so having a dedicated leader for this is a smart move.
A Boost for the Canadian Game Development Scene
Seeing this kind of growth in Vancouver and Edmonton is great for the local industry. It means more jobs and more opportunities for Canadian talent to work on some of the giant franchises around. Arrival President Paul Lipson, who has a history with huge titles like Halo and Destiny, mentioned that this is more than just an expansion. It's a way for them to help anyone building a game, regardless of how big or small it is.
Arrival has already got a reputation for being a reliable partner in the industry. With these new studios and the leadership team they've put together, it looks like they're ready to take on even more work as games continue to get larger and more complex. It's an exciting time to be part of the gaming world in Canada, and I'll be watching to see what these new teams work on first.
Arrival Is Growing the Local Industry in Canada
This expansion into Western Canada is a huge win for the local dev scene. Since Arrival handles work for the biggest franchises in the business, these new teams in Vancouver and Edmonton will be right in the thick of it as they build the next wave of games.
I'm looking forward to seeing their first projects. With these names involved, whatever they work on next is worth watching.
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