Brighton-based user testing outfit Player Research is expanding its business with a new office in Montreal.

Set to open on January 2nd 2018, the new Canadian lab will be available to test and research both single and multiplayer games. It will initially be staffed by 8 UX researchers.

The new studio will be headed up by Morgan Kennedy. He has previously held roles as a user researcher at indie studio Compulsion Games and Ubisoft.

Vibrant region

"We're very excited to be welcoming Morgan onboard and opening our UX playtesting labs in Montreal," said Graham McAllister, Director of Player Research.

"It's a vibrant region for a wide range of game developers and we're looking forward to working with developers across Canada and all of North America."

Player Research was acquired by QA and localisation firm Keywords Studios for £1.3 million back in October 2016. The deal was made up of £700,000 in cash, 65,000 Keywords shares, and a £300,000 bonus if targets were met in two years.