The wind of consolidation blowing over the global video game industry does not scare the founder and president of Behavior Interactif, Rémi Racine. At the dawn of the 30and anniversary of his company, the Quebec businessman thinks on the contrary that this trend will be beneficial to him over the next few years.
Met by The duty the day after Microsoft announced its intention to acquire the video game giant Activision Blizzard for the tidy sum of 68.7 billion US dollars, Rémi Racine could have said he was intimidated by this transaction. Behavior Interactive, with its 900 employees, is perhaps one of the largest independent video game publishers in Canada. The company, headquartered in Montreal, does not have the scale of its two American counterparts. But the transaction could, on the contrary, prove beneficial for Behavior, argues Mr. Racine.
“We count these two among our customers. We experienced the same situation — but a little more modest — at the end of 2020, when Electronic Arts acquired [l’éditeur britannique] Codemasters, and it went really well. They too are our customers. »
Because, for 30 years, Behavior has developed business relationships throughout the industry. This gives him a position of choice, at a time when his co-founder and current president is preparing to expand his business beyond Quebec borders. Acquisitions are also on the horizon. Rémi Racine does not mention any names, but he mentions at least one studio that he has in his sights, “made up of around thirty programmers” and which he intends to get his hands on before the end of the year.
“We are considering making acquisitions abroad this year. It’s another way to find talented workers who have developed expertise that complements ours. It is still quite easy to hire talented people in Montreal, but we would like to be able to ease the pressure on the Montreal labor market. »
Not like Activision
Activision Blizzard had suffered for several months from a toxic work climate that led to the dismissal of some 80 employees and managers suspected of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. Experts believe that the sale of the company was partly caused by this situation. The arrival of Microsoft in the portrait is good news, according to Rémi Racine. “Microsoft will quickly clean up. It needs so much content to feed its video game platforms that it will have to act quickly” to rectify the situation.
This increased need for video game content is just as profitable for Behaviour, which has seen its revenues jump accordingly in recent years: from $25 million in 2015, they reached $170 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2020, then $225 million. million for the year ending in 2021. The year 2022 promises to be just as positive. Rémi Racine believes that this rhythm will continue for at least another five years.
“We still have a lot of growth on the horizon. We’re not like Activision, we can double, maybe even triple our revenue over the next few years,” he says. Behavior also intends to remain independent, for the time being at least. Its president is more eyeing a possible stock market listing than a sale of assets. “It could happen in the next five years. »
From video games to work
Behavior Interactif, which was already called Artificial Mind & Movement (or A2M for friends), also sees beyond the video game itself. A new division could be added to the three current divisions. The first produces computer and console games. The second specializes in mobile games. And the third declines video game environments based on brands belonging to third parties.
A fourth entity could develop business tools inspired by video games. This is what was called a few years ago the “gamification” of the business world. We find similar applications in other fields, such as education: it is a question of using ludic springs to improve certain pedagogical, commercial, advertising or other processes.
One of the best examples of these processes is the use by companies in the service industry of employee or customer loyalty programs that award medals or decorations to the most active members. They can also accumulate points in a ranking where the best performing participants receive various rewards.
Casually, Epic Games, the American giant behind the Fortnite immersive environment and the Unreal Engine graphics engine, is very involved in the development of corporate training tools based on its own video game environments. Unity Technologies, which markets an eponymous graphics engine competing with that of Epic, does the same thing.
Behavior follows suit. The revenues it generates in the business market remain relatively modest, but they will double this year, says Rémi Racine. “There is a lot of development to be done in this market,” he thinks. Especially in the current context of telework, where digital tools are constantly occupying more space in office life.
What will occupy Behavior Interactif for another 30 years? “In any case, we want to continue to grow,” concludes its president.