Fortin Wins Fortnite
15-year-old boy from Quebec wins $75,000 at Fortnite tournament
Fortin has now signed with a professional esports team
The Future Is Now
Marvel Future Revolution opens pre-registrations and soft launch
First open-world action RPG on mobile
Barry Is Back
Update: Halfbrick Studios soft-launches Jetpack Joyride 2: Bullet Rush
Available in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Spain
Spac Action
Update: Ludia confirms Jam City acquisition
Estimated offer of $175 million, Jam City merging with DPCM Capital
On The Up
Leaf Mobile experiences record Q1 FY21 with revenue hitting $25 million
East Side Games deal provides boost
Exit Strategy
Stadia sees talent exodus as multiple executives join Jade Raymond's Haven
Jumping ship
Check Those Ads
Vulcron partners with ADInMo for Pixel Strike 3D monetisation
Earning more plus better retention
Jobs In Games
Clipwire Games' Jaime Pearse on taking a chance on getting into games and finding her dream job
She's now game design lead at the Canadian studio
Lock And (re)load
Tomb Raider Reloaded unearths a soft launch
New action-arcade title set to launch in 2021
Trainers Unite
Pokémon Unite regional beta set to launch in Canada
Players must be over the age of 16 and can only be accessed on Android devices
Play Time
There are nearly 239 million mobile gamers across the US and Canada
"Mobile is the most popular platform in the video game industry, with wide and increasing appeal across all age groups"
2020 In Review
"Mobile is no longer the only option for people doing commutes or travelling," says Dead by Daylight producer Valentine Dessertenne
Behaviour Interactive launched the horror title in June earlier this year
Switch It Up
Nintendo Switch remains the best-selling console in Canada for 25 consecutive months
790,000 units have been sold in the country this year
Expansion
Phoenix Labs expands as it opens new studios in Montreal and Los Angeles
"We aspire to bring joy and delight to players for years to come by providing developers with a long-term home to create the world's most compelling gaming experiences"
Expansion
Development services firm Amber opens a new studio in Montréal
Outpost focused on QA, localisation and engineering initially
Remote Vs Office
Indie Mavens: Is there an overall benefit to going completely remote work or does a company still need an office?
"Life is short, and the distractions are piling up. At what point do you need to majorly change your lifestyle to fit with an internet-enabled world?"
Loot Boxes
EA faces Canadian class action lawsuit over loot boxes
Publisher facing legal action over its implementation of the business model
Remote Working
Square Enix Montréal's Nathalie Gauthier explains why soft skills are the key to managing people
"You certainly have to clearly understand that producing has nothing to do with authority or micro-managing every decision."
"positive Cultural Impact"
Former Riot and Netflix employees set up new studio Odyssey Interactive, raise $6 million
Canadian studio will aim to ship first title by end of 2021
Honest Work
Playrix soft-launches match-three puzzler Farmscapes
New mobile title is available across Canada, Australia and the UK
Slayed
Castlevania: Grimore of Souls is shutting down after less than a year in soft launch
It is only available in Canada
Oneman Team
Indie Spotlight: Francis Entereso on launching a game in the middle of a global pandemic
"It often feels like it's impossible for an indie to stand out"
Winding Worlds
Indie Spotlight: Why KO_OP believes Apple Arcade is the perfect introduction for non-gamers
KO_OP art director and game designer Sam Boucher on the forming of the studio
Back From The Brink
Indie Spotlight: Efecto Studios CEO and co-founder Eivar Rojas Castro on bouncing back from closure
"It was a six-person team with no clients and no local industry"
Jobs In Games
Remote Working: Clipwire Games' James Aiken on developing from home after just relocating
"When you can't go out and see friends and family it’s important to make plans to communicate with people outside of work"
New Studio Here
Respawn unveils Apex Legends-focused studio in Canada
Headed up by Henry Lee and Steven Ferreira
All Aboard
Sybo Games soft-launches new endless runner Train Riders
Available in Belgium, Netherlands, Canada and the Philippines
Limited Promotion
Starbucks' new AR game Starlands will give away 2.5 million real-world different prizes
Promotion only available in the US and Canada
New Behaviour
Behaviour Interactive names former Microsoft director David Reid as chief marketing officer
"The company has a tremendous pedigree built on decades of success"
International Women’s Week
Women in Gaming: Kitfox Games' Victoria Tran on shifting from healthcare PR to the games industry
"I decided to just Google and email random people in fields I was interested in joining"
Home Run
Glu soft-launches MLB Tap Sports Baseball 2020 in Canada
Franchise reaches 40 million downloads
Indie Spotlight
Indie Spotlight: Why Klei Entertainment looks to stay with Apple Arcade going forward
Software engineer Mark Laprairie talks Hot Lava and subscription services
Jobs In Games
Behaviour Interactive's Daniel Guertin on how to get a job in game design
"Once you’ve started, it's just a matter of pushing forward"
Capacity Full
Microsoft's Project xCloud launches preview on iOS
The UK, US and Canada only
Indie Spotlight
Indie Spotlight: Capybara game director Dan Vader on the unlikely success of Grindstone
Why Apple Arcade was the place to be for the slice-and-dice puzzler
Daunting Acquisition
Free Fire studio Garena acquires Phoenix Labs for an estimated $150 million
100 developers now under "Garena family"
Npd Group
US and Canada mobile games revenue grows 24% in 2019
$11.82 billion spent in the two countries
Whirlwind Acquisition
Google Stadia acquires indie developer Typhoon Studios
"It will really give us a head start in making the system-defining games everyone is waiting for..."
Channeling
Outerminds partners with PewDiePie again for Pixelings game
Arrives in app stores on November 15th, 2019
Acquisition
Bethesda acquires mobile developer Alpha Dog Games
"We're excited to have them join the Bethesda family"
Early Promise
Stadia Founder’s Edition bundle sells out in Europe, nearly sold out in US
Now for something new
Keep Talking
Indie Spotlight: Steel Crate Games co-founder on the uncertainty of premium mobile games
If you don't enjoy the process and experience of game development, there are far more likely paths to wealth
Live Ops
A Thinking Ape on inclusivity in live ops content
We’ve spent the last couple of years exploring the impacts and developing our process for creating effective inclusive content.
New Studio
NetEase opens Montreal studio
CEO says city offers “clear advantages and favourable conditions” for international games companies
Studio Closure
Terraforming Mars developer LuckyHammers closes down
70 staff lose their jobs
Site Opening
Pole To Win opens Montreal office
New location will offer QA, customer service, engineering and translation services
Jobs In Games
Jobs in Games: East Side Games' Elin Jonsson on the misconceptions of being a games producer
"I know how incredibly hard it is to run a studio, and I don’t take my current job for granted"
Woo
Azerion acquires kids MMO Woozworld
Deal comes hot off the back of purchase of Spil Games’ mobile division
Indie Spotlight
Indie Spotlight: Noodlecake Studios COO on transitioning to games-as-a-service for Golf Blitz
"You need to get your face out there, showing off your games and build a small community to champion it all"
Jobs
Square Enix is hiring over 100 new positions at its Montréal Studios
Square Enix Montréal and Eidos Montréal are scaling up as part of an international collaboration.