GREE has announced plans to open a new development studio in Vancouver dedicated to making free-to-play mobile social games.

According to the firm - which launched its first studio in the west in San Francisco back in February - the search for staff has already begun.

A Vancouver vow

"The goal for the Canadian studio is to merge the knowledge we gained from our recent successes with more experimental approaches," said VP of consumer operations Steve Lin, who will run the studio.

"We want to take some risks and come up with new games and ideas that will contribute to the ongoing evolution of the mobile game space."

GREE Vancouver hopes to release its first game within the next six to eight months.

"The creative community in Vancouver has made tremendous contributions to the mobile and video game industry and we are looking forward to tapping into that talent pool and building a team of passionate innovators," concluded Lin.

Two way street

For its part, the city of Vancouver seems happy to have GREE, too, and the company's announcement prompted kind words from British Columbia's minister of jobs, tourism and innovation Pat Bell.

"GREE is a world leader in mobile and social games and we are thrilled the company has selected Vancouver and British Columbia for its first Canadian development studio," Bell explained.

"This province is home to a thriving cluster of innovative video game and digital media companies that are drawn here by our deep pool of talented workers and our positive investment climate."

[source: GREE]