Ontario’s
Digital Gaming Industry
Powering gaming into new worlds
Far Cry 4
Ubisoft
Electronic Arts, Ubisoft,
Rockstar Games and
built-in-Ontario successes
including Big Blue Bubble,
Magmic and Big Viking
Games all thrive here.
Why?
Because this is where great
gaming ideas become global
market winners.
And it’s also where digital gaming algorithms
are powering new possibilities in fields
as diverse as self-driving cars, medical
diagnostics, artificial intelligence and virtualreality training simulators.
If you’re planning to expand your digital gaming
studio or exploit the dazzling opportunities
re-shaping the world of gaming technologies,
here’s what you need to know.
The name of this game is profit
Digital gaming companies are playing an increasingly pivotal role in Ontario’s
information and communications technology sector, a $32-billion industry with
20,000 firms. It’s the second largest IT cluster in North America.
Ontario, with 100 game developers and publishers, is Canada’s top game producer
and, globally, Canada ranks third (after the U.S. and Japan) in total game production.
Boosting gaming’s growth potential are Ontario’s strengths in film, television, music
and publishing.
In short, we have the technologies, the talent and the expertise to help you take your
company wherever you want it to go.
You supply the vision, we’ll supply the talent
Internationally recognized for our award-winning animators, designers, game
producers and mobile app developers, Ontario has 44 universities and colleges
– including Sheridan College, Seneca College, the University of Toronto, OCAD
University and the University of Waterloo. They play a vital role in pushing the
boundaries of gaming by conducting leading-edge IT research and making sure the
talent pipeline stays full.
Nearly 12,000 students are now majoring in gaming-related programs such as
game development, animation and graphic design, and another 23,000 are enrolled
in computers or software engineering. That’s 35,000 potential employees, many of
them intent on a career in digital gaming.
Low business costs
It gets even better. Business costs are low in Ontario.
Video game production costs are almost one-third lower in Toronto, Ottawa and
Waterloo than the U.S. average, and significantly lower than in any G7 country.
Costs in Toronto are at least 10% lower than in any comparable city in the U.S.,
Japan, Australia, the U.K., France, Germany, Italy or the Netherlands.
My Singing Monsters Big Blue Bubble
Putting the FUN in funding
Our Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit refunds up to 40%
of labour costs along with the first $100,000 in marketing
and distribution expenditures for games created in-house in
Ontario. For games developed on a fee-for-service basis, the
tax credit refunds 35% of labour cost. There are no per-project
or annual limits.
Ontario’s Co-operative Education Tax Credit gives game
developers a refundable tax credit of 25% for the salaries paid
to post-secondary co-op students, up to a maximum of $3,000
per student. It’s a smart way to reduce the cost of finding the
right young talent.
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Work hard, play harder
For successful gaming companies, the ability to offer prospective hires a
vibrant cosmopolitan lifestyle as well as quick getaways to wineries, hiking
trails and lakes, makes it easier to attract and retain the best programmers
and developers.
Ontario’s gaming clusters —Toronto, Ottawa and Waterloo region—
routinely rank at or very near the top among North American cities for quality
of life, sustainability, safety, diversity and a range of other advantages that can
make a big difference to the success of your search for talent.
The future is so last year
The future of gaming isn’t here. We’re two steps beyond it! Gaming algorithms
are powering extraordinary innovations outside the world of entertainment.
For game developers and publishers hungry to explore these new frontiers, Ontario
offers a wealth of opportunities for cross-industry strategic alliances, collaborations
and disruptive innovations.
We’re a global centre for automotive production, life sciences, e-learning, big data
analytics and financial services. We’re home to world-leading academic research
centres with intellectual property protocols that encourage tech transfer.
And we have government funding programs – SR&ED (Scientific Research and
Experimental Development) and IRAP (Industrial Research Assistance Program) – to
help reduce development costs.
The bottom line?
If you’re looking to leverage your gaming expertise and IP, Ontario can help you make it
happen. Game on!
For more information about investing in Ontario, please visit us at
www.InvestInOntario.com
E-mail: [email protected]
Printed in Ontario, Canada on recycled paper.
© Queen’s Printer for Ontario, 2016 020822-ENG/08/16
All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.
This information is accurate at the time of printing.