Video Games Developed in Canada

canadian flag

Based on the quality of the video games developed in Canada, it's clear that Canadians have a significant place in the video game industry. New Canadian video game companies start up almost every year, proving that the Canadian video game market is booming.

Canadian Video Game Companies

According to Professor Nick-Dyer Witheford of the University of Western Ontario, in 2000, Canadians purchased one billion dollars worth of video games, only slightly behind the 1.2 billion dollar Canadian music industry.

Facts about the Canadian Game Industry

Additional facts about the Canadian video game industry include the following points.

  • There are about 150 Canadian video game companies that are either solely devoted to creating video games or serve the video game industry as subsidiary work.
  • Major areas in Canada that have the strongest video game industry presence includes Montreal and Vancouver, as well as numerous developers throughout Ontario.
  • The video and computer game publishing market provides between 3,500 to 4000 jobs in Canada.
  • A number of the largest Canadian video game companies are owned by foreign publishers, such as Electronic Arts and Ubisoft.
  • The Canadian computer game industry is heavily focused on developing games rather than publishing games. Most publishing takes place outside of Canada.

The rapid growth of the gaming industry in Canada represents a tremendous opportunity for the country to gain more jobs and further business development. Canadian ingenuity and programming expertise, which programmers develop at world-class higher learning institutions throughout Canada, represents some of the greatest promise and hope for the economic future of Canada.

A List of Video Games Developed in Canada

If you ask most gamers for the name of video games developed in Canada, most of them wouldn't even realize that any such Canadian companies even exist. The Canadian video game industry is so well integrated into the global market that the international boundaries are blurred. Many video game enthusiasts are not even aware that they are purchasing a Canadian product when they pick certain games off of the store shelf. The following are the largest video game studios in Canada.

  • Electronic Arts Canada and EA Black Box, both in Vancouver, are collectively the largest Canadian employers in the industry. They produce such popular games as Need for Speed, Medal of Honor, and The Sims 3.
  • Ubisoft, based in Montreal, is also one of Canada's largest studios, producing well-known titles like Tom Clancy Splinter Cell,Assassin's Creed, Prince of Persia and Rainbow Six.
  • Radical Entertainment, located in Vancouver, is another major Canadian player. Owned by Activision Blizzard, this company produced such games as Scarface, Hulk and Clash of the Titans.
  • Bioware, a well known game producer, has a facility in Edmonton. This major video game maker produced major games like Baldur's Gate, MDK2 and Sonic Chronicles.

Smaller Canadian Video Game Developers

Aside from some of the large foreign-owned game development companies, there is a long list of Canadian companies that are making their presence known in the gaming world. These include the following companies.

  • Strategy First
  • Hip Interactive
  • Microids
  • A2M
  • Artech
  • Relic Entertainment
  • Digital Extremes
  • The Adventure Company
  • Artificial Mind and Movement
  • Blue Castle Games
  • Blue Lizard Games
  • ClickBoom
  • DreamCatcher Interactive
  • Groove Games
  • HB Studios
  • Ironclad Games
  • Kalador Entertainment
  • Lotus Creative Entertainment
  • New Horizon Interactive
  • Next Level Games
  • Orbital Media
  • Parinha Games
  • Rockstar
  • Silicon Knights
  • Slick Entertainment
  • Software Dynamics
  • Strategy First
  • Threewave Software
  • United Front Games
  • Women Wise
  • Z8Games
  • ZAPiT Games

The Future of Canadian Game Development

As the global video game market continues to expand with new game consoles like the Wii adding to the demand for new and exciting video games, all of the game design companies throughout Canada stand a chance grow into large and profitable game development companies. The successful developers will be those that focus on games that capture the hearts and minds of gamers across the world, whether they are video games developed in Canada or elsewhere.