Intense Ontario investments push Canada past U.K. to become 3rd-largest game development community

Only Japan and the U.S. stand in our way.

Canada has topped U.K. to become the world’s third-largest game development community, thanks to a  combination of a deep talent pool, strong economy, and targeted incentives.

Executives from the Ontario Technology Corridor, which includes the Greater Toronto area, Ottawa region, Waterloo region, city of London, and the Niagara region, are attending the Game Developers Conference (GDC Europe 2010) in Cologne this week to show digital entertainment companies that Ontario is the “best place in North America to expand or relocate their businesses.”

OTC

Recently announced gaming infrastructure investment in the Ontario Technology Corridor includes The Communitech Hub, a $100 million digital media and mobile accelerator in Kitchener. The 30,000 square-foot venue is dedicated to the grwoth of digital media research and commercialization. Google recently announced it was taking two floors of The Hub to double its Waterloo Region staff to 140 from the present 70 people. 

The University of Waterloo’s has received $20 million for its Stratford Institute for digital media, where the first classes begin this Fall. 

And The Generator is a new $3 million, state-of-the-art digital interactive media production facility in St. Catharines, Ontario. The facility is designed to enable entire media projects to be completed from one location.

Ontario’s entertainment and creative cluster produces $15 billion in revenue and over 200,000 jobs, contributing $12.7 billion to the province’s GDP. Gaming and digital media graduates from Ontario colleges and universities have proven to be prized employees at companies like Pixar Animation Studios, Electronic Arts, Walt Disney and Microsoft. 

“Our job now is to add to our tremendous home-grown crop of companies and help demonstrate that Ontario is a prime destination in North America for gaming investments,” said Gerry Pisarzowski, Vice President of Business Development for the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance, an Ontario Technology Corridor partner.