Are you just starting out with your game development career?
We know that a lot of people are looking for game development jobs all over the world.
In this series of videos we want to highlight specific cities and talk about how the game
industry is doing there.
Our goal is to provide a current and accurate snapshot of each city’s gamedev scene.
For our first video in this series, we thought why not start with the home of Ask Gamedev,
Vancouver, BC, Canada?
Note we will be talking about the Metro Vancouver region, which emcompasses Vancouver, Burnaby,
Coquitlam, Surrey, New Westminster, and more!
This video is for fans of video games who want to know more about the industry, all
of the people who are just starting out in Vancouver’s game industry, and new graduates
looking to get their foot in the door.
In this video we will talk about the AAA studios, indie studios, and video game events of Vancouver.
We’ll make sure to include links to each studio’s website or careers page in the
description.
We are Ask Gamedev, and this is Vancouver’s Video Game Industry!
Welcome back!
We make videos on how to elevate your game development and inspire others.
If after watching this video you want to continue the game dev conversation, check the video
description for a link to our Discord server.
Vancouver’s game industry is huge!
How did this all begin?
For this, we need to start with a brief, and interesting, history lesson.
It all started with a game called Evolution.
Evolution, created by two Vancouver teenagers, Don Mattrick and Jeff Sember, is a game where
you start out as an amoeba, and through a series of mini-games, evolve your way all
the way to becoming a human!
No one would have guessed that this little title would alter the course of Vancouver
and its game industry forever.
The game was a huge success, quickly selling more than 400,000 copies.
With the success of Evolution, Don and Jeff started a studio called Distinctive Software,
and they grew to become one of the biggest game publishers throughout the 80’s.
In 1991, a California-based company, acquired Distinctive Software, renamed it Electronic
Arts Canada, and the rest is history!
So let’s talk about Vancouver’s AAA studios.
Of course we have to start with EA Vancouver (which was renamed from EA Canada to reflect
the fact that EA does have other studios in Canada).
EA Vancouver is where it all began.
Three giant buildings nestled in the heart of Burnaby.
Two being dev studios, and the third being the ultra-exclusive motion capture studio
(not a lot of people are allowed in there).
EA Vancouver is responsible for a number of franchises including FIFA, NHL, UFC, Need
for Speed, and the recently launched Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville.
Down the street from EA Vancouver, we have SkyBox Labs (home to Derek, Matt & Tud).
Coming up on their 8th year in business, SkyBox Labs is known for their work with Xbox Game
Studios.
The studio is currently working on projects in the Minecraft Universe, and working as
a co-developer on the next Halo title, Halo Infinite.
They also have an internal IP team, who’ve recently released the original title, Stela,
on Xbox One and Apple Arcade.
Rounding out the studios in Burnaby is one of the newer studios on this list, and also
a lab, Phoenix Labs!
Phoenix Labs are the makers of the free-to-play action RPG, Dauntless.
Now let’s head Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant area, where we have Relic Games.
Founded 22 years ago, the studio was acquired by THQ in 2004, then subsequently acquired
Sega in 2013.
Relic’s made headlines twice this year, first when they relocated to their awesome
new Mount Pleasant studio, and next with their Age of Empires IV reveal trailer.
Close by, in the False Creek area, lies another large game studio, Blackbird Interactive.
New to their area as well, Blackbird is known for their work on the Homeworld Franchise.
For the rest of the studios on this list, let’s head west.
Nestled inside the Downtown East side’s International Village mall is Piranha games!
How cool is that?
If you know of any other game studios located inside a mall, let us know in the comments.
Piranha Games is known for their work on the Mechwarrior franchise, with their latest title
being the recent Mechwarrior 5!
Next up, we have an Xbox Game Studios partner.
Are you a fan of Gears of War?
Did you know that the Gears of War series is produced in Vancouver?
That’s right, Gears of War, including the new and critically acclaimed entry, Gears
5, is made right in downtown Vancouver, by The Coalition.
And last, but definitely not least, we have a studio that’s been entrusted by Nintendo
to develop games using their beloved characters, Next Level Games.
Next Level has been making highly-rated 1st party Nintendo games for more than a decade!
Some of the games that they’ve created include Super Mario Strikers, Punch-Out, and the Luigi's
Mansion titles, including this year’s Luigi’s Mansion 3.
Alright, let’s switch gears to mobile game studios.
Let’s start with East Side Games.
Originally hailing from Vancouver’s Downtown East Side, East Side Games is a mobile studio
that gained an insane amount of popularity from their game, Pot Farm.
Nowadays the studio is juggling a number of projects including Trailer Park Boys Greasy
Money, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia - The Gang Goes Mobile.
Rounding out the rest of the mobile game studios in Vancouver are:
Kabam, the mobile giant famous for Marvel Contest of Champions.
This Game Studio a studio who once had their game featured in one of Apple’s Keynotes!
A Thinking Ape - one of Vancouver’s oldest mobile studios, and maybe the one with the
best website.
IUGO Games - the team that created the hit “Knights & Dragons”.
And finally, right in Coal Harbour, Hothead Games known for their mobile FPS titles, and
sports sims.
Now let’s talk about Indie studios.
Whether it’s because Vancouver has great training via its art and tech schools, or
the fact that a lot of AAA studios attract talent from around the world who then start
their own projects, or maybe it’s something in the water - the fact is: Vancouver has
such a vibrant, successful, and thriving indie game scene!
Indie games from Vancouver have won numerous awards, including The 2018 Game Award for
best independent game.
First up, and our only entry from New Westminster is Offworld Industries.
Offworld industries makes the FPS, SQUAD, and they also publish the World War II FPS
Post Scriptum.
Next, we have Klei Entertainment.
Klei’s been around for a while now, but first became popular with the Shank series,
published by Electronic Arts.
Shank and Shank 2 are two of the best and most grittiest beat em ups of all time.
The studio is probably more well known today for creating the Don’t Starve and Don’t
Starve Together series.
Not a studio to rest on a single hit franchise though, Klei has since created Oxygen Not
Included, Hot Lava, and the upcoming Griftlands.
They also acquired another amazing Vancouver indie game studio, Slick Entertainment, in
2017.
Up next is Red Hook Games.
They created the beautiful, award-winning Darkest Dungeon.
A sequel, Darkest Dungeon 2 is also in the works.
This next studio, like Next Level Games, also has ties with Nintendo.
Yes we are talking about Brace Yourself Games, makers of Crypt of the Necrodancer.
Nintendo liked the title so much, that this year’s Cadence of Hyrule was born!
They’ve also got two amazing looking titles in the works: Industries of Titan, and Phantom
Brigade.
And one thing worth mentioning too is the studio’s founder Ryan Clark, has one of
the best shows about the independent game development industry - you have to watch Clark
Tank on Twitch!
Three more to go!
First is Hinterland- the makers of The Long Dark - a game about surviving the Canadian
Wilderness.
Next is Northway Games - who showed the world first, how much fun you could have in VR,
with Fantastic Contraption.
And finally, the studio behind the game that Rock Paper Shotgun called “The Smartest
Game of 2016” - that game is Pony Island, and the studio is solo developer, Daniel Mullins
Games.
Daniel’s followup, The Hex, came out in 2018.
But wait there’s more.
These next entries are studios with roots to what was once known as Indie House.
There once was a house in Richmond that was home to some of the greatest indie game minds
of our time - we can spend a whole video talking about it (and maybe we will one day), but
for now, read about it in this lengthy article from Polygon.
First off, there’s Chevy Ray who is working on one of the most highly anticipated indie
games, the upcoming, Humble published, Ikenfell.
Then there’s Greg Lobanov, the person behind the undeniably charming music platformer,
Wandersong, and the upcoming colorful adventure Chicory.
And finally EXOK Games, or Extremely OK Games.
Founded this year, EXOK games is an evolution of Matt Thorson’s Matt Makes Games.
This is the all-star team responsible for the indie legend, Towerfall Ascension, the
2018 Indie Game of the Year, Celeste.
So those are the game studios in Vancouver!
If we missed one, please let us know in the comments!
Now let’s look at Vancouver game events.
First, there’s Full Indie.
Full Indie is a monthly event where indie developers can demo their games and prototypes.
It’s a very casual, safe, setting - you bring your game, find a spot to set up, and
ask people to play.
It’s a great event for networking with other indie developers and also getting feedback
for your game.
You can register to attend the next Full Indie Meetup on Meetup.
For a much larger, formal affair, there is Full Indie Summit - a yearly event run by
the team behind Full Indie.
Usually happening around September each year, Full Indie Summit packs in a full day of talks,
bringing in speakers from around the world to talk about gamedev.
Next up is Twitch Vancouver.
Vancouver’s Twitch Community puts on several fantastic events each year!
Guests can expect live streams, live music, a ton of games to play, beer, and prizes.
General admission is free, and the event is for everyone 19 and up.
You can RSVP for the next event on Meetup.
And lastly, VFS’s Pitch + Play.
The Vancouver Film School has a game design program, and they put on regular events where
students can showcase their work.
We’re always amazed at the quality of the games that are showcased, and the creativity
of the student teams.
It’s also hosted by Electric Playground’s Victor Lucas.
One thing to note though is that this event is only open to folks in the games and tech
industries.
We should also mention: one event that a lot of Vancouver game devs go to is PAX West,
in Seattle - but we’ll talk about that more in our Seattle Game Industry video!
Thanks for watching!
For more Ask Gamedev watch this video on Game Studio Applicant Mistakes, or this playlist
on Game Industry Career Planning.