Quebec-area game devs are worrying about impact of new language laws
A recently-passed law in the Canadian province of Quebec called "Bill 96" is starting to worry those in the local game development community. As several of them explain to the CBC, the law's restrictions on access to English-language government resources might hurt development studios trying to hire international talent.
If you haven't heard yet, Bill 96 is a piece of legislation that aims to mandate the use of the French language when accessing government services (with the exception of healthcare).
Enforcement of the bill is complicated, because there are two groups of Quebec residents ("historic" English-speakers who were educated in English, and immigrants who've been in Quebec for less than six months) who are still allowed to access English-speaking services.
That means that on paper, game developers headed to Quebec from other regions or countries will have six months to get caught up on la langue Française after moving to the area. That's not an easy task, made harder if they have to do so while helping build games with primarily English-speaking teams.
Some developers (like an anonymous one named "Remy") told the CBC that they accepted employment at Quebec-area studios because they were told that learning French was "optional," and that their coworkers would mostly be speaking English. He says that he knows several developers making plans to abandon the region.
Unity senior partner relations manager Osama Dorias (formerly of WB Games Montréal) explained that he's been advising colleagues only to take jobs in the area if they speak French. "It's like night and day. I shifted from being an advocate for people to move here, to warning people away," he stated.
Even though many game developers pass through Montréal's
Read more on gamedeveloper.com
