Order & Chaos Online's Gameloft hits the bayou in New Orleans studio

The land of Mardi Gras and jambalaya will soon be known for another, more international pastime: video games. Gameloft, creator of mobile and Facebook games like Order & Chaos Online and N.O.V.A. Elite, has announced that it will open a studio in New Orleans, La. beginning Oct. 1 of this year. The Paris-based worldwide mobile games publisher is moving to the unofficial French capital of the states early with the promise that it will move into a more permanent location in 2012.

According to The Advertiser, Gameloft plans to hire 20 employees with the goal of creating its first locally-developed game within its first year. So, expect the first game to come from Gameloft New Orleans by October of 2012, and by then the company expects the studio to house at least 53 employees. Later, the studio is expected to grow to over 100 more employees to join Gameloft's 4,000-strong global talent force.

"As we seek to expand our presence in the U.S. we are looking for the most talented gaming professionals to help us maintain our position as an industry leader in digital and social games," said Gameloft studio GM Samir El Agili. We sure hope that these future developers have a better time than some reportedly did in Gameloft New Zealand. Then again, there's no way that could possibly happen in one of the party capitals of the U.S, right?

[Image Credit: Joystiq]

Do you think Gameloft moving into New Orleans is a good move on its part? Do you have any excuse not to head down there now? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.