CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE PLAYERS

For the past several years, the Montpellier area has confirmed its position as a stronghold for CCI companies. Many have arrived since Ubisoft established itself here in 1995, along with Plug In Digital in 2017. Just to name a few: France.tv studio (2018), Fortiche Prod (2020), Smart Tale Games and Supamonks Studio (2021), the Virtuos group in 2022, followed by the Scottish studio Build a Rocket Boy and visual effects studios The Yard and Mathematic.

==> As part of the France 2030 economic development plan, the “Grande Fabrique de l’Image” (Great Image Factory) call for projects honored the Montpellier Métropole area with no fewer than eight of the 68 winning projects in France awarded to local players, including the film studios Pics Studio and France TV Studio; animation studios Mathematic and The Yard; the video game studio The Game Bakers; the cinema training program Travelling, and digital training schools Audio Workshop and Artfx.

Montpellier’s CCI players are brought together by theme within several student and professional associations that work on a daily basis to energize ecosystems, offer services and professional events, inform, showcase, promote, and more:

• Push Start, regional cluster of independent video game studios
• Coodio, national association of audio, radio, and voice professionals
• Sud Piccel, professional association for emerging gaming CCI companies
• Tropisme (or Illusion & Macadam), a cooperative in the CCI and cultural sector that runs Halle Tropisme, home to approximately sixty companies in the field
• APIFA, association of independent producers
• Occitanie Films, a regional organization devoted to promoting cinema and the audiovisual sector

These organizations are particularly active in developing structure within the region and are valued partners in supporting growth in the sector.

For example, Push Start and Montpellier’s BIC launched “Montpellier Game Lab”, an incubation program for young video game studios. Montpellier Game Lab (MGL) provides support for five to six studios over a six-month period, offering group workshops, webinars, coaching, and monthly one-to-one meetings to help them further refine their projects. The third edition of Montpellier Game Lab started in September 2023.

Growth and dynamics in the CCI sector are boosted by a pool of talent that can be recruited locally. While certain skills may be in short supply, Montpellier has a major advantage: a network of schools with an excellent international reputation for the quality of their training. This includes ArtFX and ESMA, whose students have earned numerous awards and selections at film festivals for their short film projects. Both are ranked among the world’s top schools.

Other important players include Travelling, Acfa Multimédia / Studio M, dedicated programs at Paul Valéry University and University of Montpellier, Ionis e-artsup, Brassart, IAD-3D, Cinécréatis, Objectif 3D, IEFAR-Gam, and IPESAA, among others. Find out more…