In its newest ‘Essential Facts’ studyCanadian video gaming market lobbying group Video Games Canada (previously the Entertainment Software Association of Canada) took a look at the function that video gaming plays in Canadians’ lives. Most significantly, 48 percent of Canadian grownups aged 18-64 report playing video games regularly, while 93 percent of kids and teenagers state they play weekly. Even more, sixty percent of them routinely use mobile and consoles, with 44 percent doing so on PC and 13 percent on handhelds. Genre-wise, on the other hand, action-adventure is the most popular in Canada (44 percent), following by puzzle video games (40 percent), strategy/simulation (37 percent) and casual/social (35 percent).
For Paul Fogolin, VGC’s president and CEO, it’s the factors why Canadians play video games that actually stick out.
“A couple things leapt out to me in this report, and among them was the quantity of Canadian gamers who spoke about how they utilize video games to relax, to reset. The term I utilize is ‘self-care.’ Individuals talk about self-care. It’s an essential element of modern-day life– we’re residing in a difficult world,” he states. “I believe there may have been a time where the concept of activities and pastimes that assist unwind and loosen up would have been considered approved. We can’t do that any longer. 91 per cent of gamers state that video games assist them unwind and relax.”
Image credit: VGC
He includes that video games can have much deeper advantages, with 78 percent of grownups and 69 percent of teenagers stating video games make a favorable influence on their psychological health. Seventy percent of participants likewise stated that video games assist them remain linked, while 63 percent stated video games construct neighborhood and motivate social connection.
“Those are definite numbers. And once again, we are residing in intriguing times where there’s an expense of living crisis. There are unpredictabilities worldwide. Psychological health difficulties are, I believe, more common than ever, “he states.”So when you have Canadians stating, ‘Here is a pastime, here’s a leisure activity, here’s something that I can do to loosen up, to unwind, and, in fact, I feel much better, my psychological health enhances after I play, either if it’s a single-player experience where I’m diving into a world that I enjoy, or something I’m finishing with my good friends and household online, or brand-new pals that I satisfy– that is big.”
Canadians made comparable remarks in VGC’s last model of Essential Facts in 2022, showing video gaming’s withstanding favorable influence on wellness. Something this newest report dove into for the very first time was Canadians’ beliefs towards Canadian-made video games and the nationwide video gaming market as a whole.
“We wished to get a sense of: Do Canadians play Canadian-made video games? Do Canadian gamers understand they’re playing Canadian-made video games? Exists a sense of pride in the market? Exists a sense of patriotism around the market? Is this a market that Canadians believe deserves purchasing? Is this a market Canadians believe that we should invest more cash buying?” states Fogolin. “And the outcomes were extremely favorable because regard.”
This line of questioning refer to among the other crucial findings that stuck out to Fogolin: the variety of Canadians thinking about entering the video gaming market. In specific, the report discovered that 54 percent of teenagers, 52 percent of Gen Z and 44 percent of millennials have an interest in pursuing video games professions.
Image credit: VGC
While that’s definitely excellent to see, it’s likewise essential to not sugarcoat the state of the market to ambitious video game designers. We’ve seen 10s of thousands of layoffs considering that 2022 together with studio closures, debt consolidations and various task cancellations.
“Here in Canada, we’re not insulated from the worldwide pressures the market has actually dealt with. More financial investment than ever was seen throughout the pandemic in the market worldwide. Canada belonged of that,” states Fogolin. “A re-adjustment post-pandemic, not simply with completion of the pandemic, however into brand-new macroeconomic conditions, affected the market. Capital is tighter than ever when it pertains to financial investment. Spending plans are greater than ever when it pertains to making video games. Therefore the act of making video games has actually never ever been so competitive.”
What does assist counter those headwinds, he states, is Canada’s big swimming pool of designer skill.
“Here in Canada, we are blessed with a benefit, a fundamental benefit in the market, in the level of skill we have– the facilities, the neighborhood, the understanding, the studios, whether it’s bigger worldwide studios, our homegrown indie studios, and whatever in between,” he states. “Because of that structure, we have actually fared much better than the majority of jurisdictions throughout this time, and since of that structure, we are poised to continue to be a worldwide leader in game-making that punches above our weight.”
Fogolin likewise states he was heartened to see an increase in a nationwide sense of pride for Canadian video games in the 2026 Essential Facts report. In specific, 68 percent of participants state it’s essential that computer game produced by Canadian designers are readily available to play, 61 percent stated they think the video gaming market is essential to Canada’s economy and 77 percent stated Canada must invest the very same quantity as, or more than, completing nations to strengthen our nationwide video gaming market.
Of course, that’s just part of the story.
Supporting Canada’s video game designers
Dragon Age: The Veilguard.(Image credit: EA)
No genuine conversation about the Canadian video games sector can be had without BioWare, the cherished Edmonton-based designer just recently shuttered by Electronic ArtsIndividuals worldwide have actually been grieving the respected RPG makerwith lots of designers in Canada, specifically, having actually been greatly affected by the studio“Anytime there’s a studio closure in the market or any task loss, it’s extremely challenging. That’s their income. There’s households. There’s ramifications. It was tough to see a studio with such an abundant history close– it’s like we’re going to a brand-new chapter,” states Fogolin.”I attempt to concentrate on the extraordinary video games that they’ve made, the developers themselves, the skill that matured in Edmonton, in BioWare, which skill stays. That skill is here in Canada. That skill can and need to have the ability to continue to make video games.”
On that note, there’s been a great deal of conversation in the wake of BioWare’s closure about what, undoubtedly, need to be performed in Canada to sustain video game designers. Most significantly, NDP leader Avi Lewis has actually argued that the federal government needs to assist previous BioWare employees recover the studio and the Mass Effect copyright (IP) from EA. To be clear, there’s no sign that either EA or the federal government would ever even amuse such a circumstance, however the current Essential Facts report plainly reveals that lots of Canadians do desire video game makers to be supported.
That asks the concern, then: beyond existing federal government financing chances like the Canada Media Fund (which simply got a “historical” federal financial investment of $213.4 millionwhat else should be done to assist Canadian video game makers prevent BioWare’s fate?
“I wish to separate a couple things. There’s private studio choices– every business has their own company design, big, medium, or little, that notifies their company choices and how they move on with various studios, therefore there’s nobody or more aspects that cause a studio closure or downsizing or, likewise, growth on the favorable side,” states Fogolin. “So I would not draw a parallel in between federal government rewards and one specific studio closure, or any other specific market condition. I believe it’s a bundle. It’s a holistic bundle when you consider financial investment and you think of conditions that enable business in this market to prosper.”
That bundle, he states, consists of whatever from “capital schedule” and “skill schedule and movement” to rewards that make each province “more appealing” to financiers. It’s because of that he requires a “nationwide technique” for Canada’s computer game market.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition.(Image credit: EA)
“Having a discussion, particularly at the nationwide level about collaborating policies and methods to this market, is where we require to be, and I believe that there’ll be concepts originating from all throughout the market and all the various gamers, at various levels, at various sizes, on how finest to collaborate that, “he states.
“If you take a look at the [2026 federal] budget plan from, there’s an area on methods for various markets, and there’s AI, and there’s forestry, and there’s robotics, and there’s modular real estate and things. To me, this market belongs because discussion to state,’Alright, what’s going on here? What’s working? What’s not working? What else is going on worldwide in competitive jurisdictions? How are they attempting to support the computer game market, and what can we do much better to contend?’And I believe that would be a perfect location to be as we progress.”
In the meantime, he states he’s confident discussions will relocate the ideal instructions, based upon something else he saw in Budget 2026.
“It notes’markets of the future, ‘basically development markets of the future, where there’s one of the most chance for financial advantages for Canada. And it’s particularly those where we currently have, according to the Government of Canada, a benefit, and video games were on that list. And it was amazing to see. It’s ‘lastly at the huge kids’table.’ There’s things like AI and vehicle and robotics and cybersecurity, and video games were right up there,”he states.
” So to me, that’s such a strong signal that our partners in federal government comprehend that we have a benefit, and they likewise comprehend that this is among 10 to 15 markets with genuine development capacity, in spite of the difficulties, therefore that offers me some optimism for the future.”
The 2026 Essential Facts study was carried out by Burson utilizing the Leger Opinion online panel to study 1,650 grownups, 250 kids(aged 6-12), and 250 teenagers(aged 13-17)in between Oct. 1-16, 2026 in Canada. All participants played computer game within the previous 4 weeks on a gadget they own.
The complete study can be discovered on VGC’s site
Header image credit: Shutterstock
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