Certain Affinity, the largest independent video game developer in Austin, has opened a second game studio right here in Toronto’s Fashion District. Certain Affinity is known and well-respected for its work on triple-A action games, including both original titles and co-development of games in blockbuster franchises like “Call of Duty,” “Halo,” “DOOM,” and “Left 4 Dead.”
Certain Affinity’s new Toronto office brings a boost to triple-A development opportunities in Toronto and furthers the city’s burgeoning game development scene. Last week, Mayor Tory and the Hon. Todd A Smith, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, joined Certain Affinity in an office open house.
The company is currently recruiting for Toronto talent and wants to ramp up to 50+ developers later this year. The Toronto studio will be a fully integrated extension of the company’s Austin office, which currently has more than 170 full time employees. Certain Affinity is seeking a variety of skilled and passionate team members to join the company in both Austin and Toronto, including artists, engineers, designers, producers, and more.
Anyone interested in joining this growing independent AAA game developer and getting in on the ground floor in Toronto can see a list of current job openings on the Certain Affinity careers page. If you don’t see what you like, consider submitting a general application, or check back, as new jobs are posted weekly.
Certain Affinity chose to expand its operations to the Toronto Region for a variety of reasons. Toronto is becoming a hub for game development with its progressive and multicultural environment and its thriving design and technical talent pool. This company was built not only with top talent and benefits, but also with one of the game industry’s most inclusive and diverse cultures, and the team looks forward to becoming part of a community with similar values.
Certain Affinity secured its ideal location by working closely with Toronto Global, a team of experienced business advisors assisting global businesses with expansion into the Toronto region.
Over the past 12 years, Certain Affinity has developed or co-developed 29 products across 12 different franchises. Certain Affinity’s co-development business model has allowed the company to run an unusually stable, perpetually growing, consistently profitable business for over a decade. It has also provided its employees the opportunity to work on some of the biggest games in the world, hand-in-hand with some of the best developers.
This co-dev business continues, but two years ago the company made a strategic decision to shift a majority of its work to lead game development. The Toronto studio is a crucial part of the company’s future growth and strategy, and will initially support the company’s ongoing lead development of a very ambitious, but not yet announced, original action game.
About Certain Affinity
In Austin and in the game industry at large, Certain Affinity has a stellar reputation as a secure, quality employer, offering all full time employees industry-leading benefits and generous profit sharing. In fact, the independent company has grown every single year since its founding – and has never had a layoff. There’s no end to this growth in sight as Certain Affinity shifts more and more into lead development of major multiplatform titles – growth that Toronto will certainly be a part of.
