How it’s going : It’s 2025; Rogue Factor’s CEO Yves Bordeleau is at Gamescom in Germany to promote the upcoming release of Hell is Us.
How it started : It was 2013; Rogue Factor’s CEO Yves Bordeleau was at Gamescom in Germany, carrying under his arm a prototype of a tactical strategy video game set in the Warhammer universe. Leveraging his vast network of friends in the industry, Yves Bordeleau managed to secure a meeting with senior executives at Games Workshop to show them a proof of concept of what would become Mordheim: City of the Damned
The first Rogue Factor offices
This demo was developed by a small group of enthusiastic developers who were fans of the iconic tabletop game. The catch?They didn’t yet have the rights to the license! Bold and risky, but that’s how Rogues roll, right? As you’ve probably guessed, the reason we’re telling you this story is because he pulled it off. The Games Workshop executives were impressed and agreed to let this small team of passionate Quebecers develop an official Warhammer video game—from their modest offices in the working-class neighborhood of Hochelaga in Montreal. And that’s how Rogue Factor was born. Rogue not just in name, but in spirit.
Team Mordheim!
Mordheim: City of the Damned was developed by a team of around 20 devs. Later, the team grew to around 30 developers during the development of Necromunda: Underhive Wars, a second game under the Warhammer license. In 2018, Yves Bordeleau and his band of rogues caught the attention of French publisher Nacon, who acquired the studio in a deal that comprised sister studios Cyanide and Big Bad Wolf as well.
Rogue Factor's offices during the developement of Necromunda
A year later, Jonathan Jacques-Belletête—known for being the Executive Art Director of the Deus Ex titles at Eidos Montreal, and fresh off his work as Art director on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy—joined Rogue Factor. The rebellious spirit of Yves Bordeleau and the unique creative vision of Jonathan Jacques-Belletête came together to redefine Rogue Factor.
Jonathan Jacques-Belletête (left) and Yves Bordeleau (right)
How does Rogue Factor position itself in the ever-changing landscape of the video game industry? They had this idea of making Rogue Factor a « boutique studio » : Making games differently—somewhere between a AAA studio and a small indie team—with a core of veterans eager to stand out in an increasingly formulaic industry. A new motto emerged as their creative driving philosophy : Design distinctions create desire. Hell is Us is the embodiment of all that. A project that could have easily gone off the rails, as most of its development took place during the COVID-19 pandemic. But through resilience, leadership, creative talent and technical know-how, the team adapted—without compromising on quality and without compromising on working conditions. In 2024, the team moved to brand new offices in the Mile-End neighborhood, known as the artistic heart of Montreal and home to its world-renowned bagels! Rogue Factor is now neighbor to many video game studios, from AAAs to indies.
The current offices of Rogue Factor in the Mile-End neighbordhood in Montreal
Today, the studio has 60 employees, with a team of 50 who developed Hell is Us. Aside from Nacon’s tremendous support in marketing, localization, and a bit of QA, everything on Hell is Us was done in-house. The English and French voice casts are mostly Quebec-based and were recorded in Rogue Factor’s own sound booths. The music was also composed internally. Even the motion capture sessions were all done in Rogue Factor’s studio.
Rogue Factor in 2025
Hell is Us is a game developed over five years by a human-sized team, driven by a unique creative vision. We can’t wait to see you play it.