The Canadian province of Quebec and its largest city, Montreal, has gradually, steadily been growing their influence in the world of game development. One reflection of that growth s the number of game industry-related conferences, conventions, meetups and more are emerging and growing in that region.
Now, a few of the bigger Montreal-based events are coming together this year to create a “super show” of sorts. Today, the movers and shakers behind the pop culture and games convention, Montreal Comiccon; the French-Canadian video game news outlet, Multijoueur; and the game industry conference, Canadian Gaming Expo have announced they are partnering up to host a two-day games conference with indie game developers and the community in mind.
This partnership will play out during Montreal Comiccon, which will be held on July 6 to 8 at Palais des congrès. The event, CGX Montreal, will start the day before, on July 5, with a hiring event and a one-day conference. An event, the Indie Village, during the Comiccon expo will bring together indie game developers, with booth space, media support, and community.
Preceding both events both a couple of weeks, the Canadian Games Expo will take be hosted in Canada’s capital, Ottowa, on June 23 and 24.
From the press release, the president of Multijoueur shared his sentiment on the new partnership
“We are excited to work with two great companies that have one motivation at heart, the communities that make them”, said Bruno-Pierre Campeau, president of Multijoueur. “Multijoueur prides itself on reaching out to communities and building media opportunities and hold events that connect developers with the fans. It’s really all about discovery.” The goal is to supply independent studios in the area with representation at Comiccon while also keeping the associated costs as low as possible, breaking down barriers that may prevent smaller studios from attending similar events. The event will have plenty of booth space available, with room to expand depending on developer’s needs.
Jillian Mood, owner of the Canadian Gamiing Expo, who we interviewed late last year about the expo she helped to build, shared her thoughts with us today about the multiplier effect of the partnership. “Our mission is to grow the Canadian Game Industry in a positive way, and collaboration (as opposed to competition) is the best way to bring ideas and communities together!”
It’s not just the number of related events in Quebec that are booming in Quebec. The Entertainment Software Association of Canada’s recent report, Essential Facts About the Canadian Video Game Industry, states that Quebec has seen the number of companies in game development rise by 42% to 198, all since 2015. The workforce size, though, has decreased by 7% in the same time period, suggesting, perhaps, a growth in the number of smaller indie game development studios, if not at the largest game developers and publishers. Kongregate, a game publisher, has just announced they’re opening a new office in Montreal to attract the attention of the region’s indie developers.
It will be interesting to see how well the fast-growing game events side of the equation keeps up with the game industry’s changes in Canada. Jilllian Mood added her vote of confidence for the potential for all aspects of the games business in the region to scale equally well: “The game industry, especially in Canada, is an ever-growing industry with thousands of developers and millions of fans all across this amazing Country…so YES (it can keep up with the new events)! ”
The full official announcement about the Quebec events partnership is posted here.
