Why Canada’s games industry matters: A proven test market, talent and tax breaks

When we published the Top 30 US Mobile Game Makers of 2026 in March, we couldn’t help but reflect on the influence that Canadian games firms continue to exert on the USA. While the list is understandably dominated by US-headquartered companies, Canadian studios remain integral to the North American games industry.

Publishers such as EA rely heavily on teams in Vancouver, Edmonton and Montréal, while Zynga and Rovio add presence in Toronto. Vancouver has built a reputation for games development, with a sizable office for online games giant Roblox, as well as the location for Kabam’s headquarters. Dead by Daylight developers Behaviour Interactive are based in Montréal, as are mobile developers, Ludia, with French giant Ubisoft being in residence since the 1990s.

For companies looking to understand players, build teams or establish a development base, Canada offers a combination of a mature consumer market, an experienced development workforce and a long history of games-focused incentives. 

Canada in numbers

The US remains the largest and most influential games market in North America, with a total revenue of $50.8Bn in 2025 second only to China. As a subset of that market, mobile games revenue in Canada grew from $543,500,000 to $1,744,100,000 last year in the 10 years from 2015 to 2025, according to AppMagic. That’s represents growth of over 220% in the last decade.

Previous data from the Government of Canada states that, “The number of video game design firms more than doubled from 2013 to 2022, with most of that growth due to small firms with fewer than five employees.” The Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC) reports estimated total revenue at $4.3 billion in 2021, whereas the government’s administrative data estimated it at $6.7 billion.

ESAC’s Power of Play 2025 report surveyed 24,216 active players and found that, “The gaming device of choice is now a mobile device,” with more than half (52%) of players preferring mobile games.

A North American test market

Canada has historically been a preferred market for soft launches - particularly for mobile games - due to its similarities to the US region. Those similarities make it a useful indicator of potential North American performance, where companies can test player behaviour, monetisation, retention and technical performance in a smaller environment. 

Just some of the high profile titles to soft launch in Canada include Candy Crush Solitaire, Clash Mini and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Mobile. 

Talent with decades of experience

Canada has built a strong reputation as a place where games are made, from triple-A titles like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Assassin’s Creed and Rainbow Six Siege to breakout indie hits like Cuphead.

Montréal became one of Canada’s best-known games development hubs following the arrival of Ubisoft in 1997 and its reputation has only strengthened in the years since. And if EA pays attention to the region - going back to the acquisition of Distinctive Software in 1991 and more recently Bioware in 2007 - then you know there’s something worth paying attention to.

While small Canadian-owned studios make up the majority of firms, the government reports that foreign-owned companies have generated the larger share of industry revenue in most years. That concentration of international studios has also created a deep local talent pool, giving developers opportunities to move between major studios and smaller independent teams as their careers develop.

Tax incentives and government support

Canadian governments at various levels attract developers and publishers through tax advantages and other support so favourable that we found UK legislation still playing catch up this April.

The attraction is particularly strong at provincial level, where tax credits and funding programmes vary considerably by region. Quebec’s tax incentives were instrumental in attracting games companies to Montréal and helping establish the city as an international development centre.   

Other provinces have followed with their own programmes such as the 35% to 40% Ontario Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit for eligible local labour expenditures. That could go some way to explaining why Ontaria had the most video game firms of any province in 2022, according to Statistics Canada (see chart above).

British Columbia increased Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit to 25% from September 2025, while Alberta prefers to offer, “strategic funding partnerships and investments” from March last year. 

A meeting of minds in Montréal

Canada has quietly become a key player in the global games industry that’s all too easy to overlook, despite the very real benefits of convenient US soft launches, established local talent and compelling tax breaks.

Much of the country's games story ultimately leads back to Montréal; a city where international publishers, independent studios and a deep talent pool have created one of the industry's most established development communities.

We’re excited to head back to Canada this year with the upcoming PG Connects Summit Montréal this November 10th. Taking place within the Montréal International Game Summit - Canada’s largest and longest-running B2B video game conference - we’re bringing mobile to MIGS!

Focusing on mobile and AI, our full-focus summit offers 500 games professionals an unparalleled opportunity to turbo-charge their networking whilst getting business-beating insight, latest industry trends and more. 

Your ticket grants you full access to both our PG Connects summit and the whole of MIGS. We've arranged a special 15% off for PG Connects attendees, so tickets are available now with Early Bird Prices making for a delicious double discount.