Alberta Games Roundup - Q2 2026
Alberta's Q2 in games: NAGIS, $15M more from CMF and an indie awards sweep
Alberta's game industry kept building momentum from April to June 2026. Edmonton hosted the first North American Games Industry Summit (NAGIS), a BioWare veteran's Star Wars studio landed new funding, and Calgary announced its own indie developer conference. On episode 26 of Good Game Edmonton, presented with Digital Alberta, host Cory Sellar runs through the quarter's headlines, then talks NAGIS and Indie Rodeo with Brett Miller of the Calgary Game Developers Association and Ronnie Villanueva of Edmonton Screen and Digital Alberta.
Here's every story, from Edmonton out to the national coverage.
Edmonton game industry news
Casey Hudson's Edmonton Star Wars studio gets backing from a $100M fund
Arcanaut Studios, the Edmonton studio led by former BioWare general manager Casey Hudson, is one of the first bets from GreaterThan Group. The new venture was formed by former NetEase executive Simon Zhu with $100 million behind it. Arcanaut's team of roughly 30 is building Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic, a spiritual successor to Knights of the Old Republic, and Hudson says it ships before 2030.
BioWare veterans launch Studio Reset with a $250K CMF grant
Three Edmonton developers who worked on Mass Effect and Dragon Age launched Studio Reset on May 20. Kaelin Lavallée, Kris Schoneberg and Francis Lacuna are building a neon-noir mystery where investigators read the same case differently. The debut is backed by a $250,000 prototyping grant from the Canada Media Fund.
Caldera Interactive launches How to Get CMF for indie studios
Speaking of CMF money, Caldera Interactive launched How to Get CMF, a resource site that walks Canadian indie studios through Canada Media Fund applications. It's live with articles and paid consulting slots, built from the Edmonton studio's own funding experience, including the $250K it secured for its own game.
Edmonton Screen's 2025 numbers: 68 studios and $24M in production
Edmonton Screen released its 2025 video game numbers: 68 active studios, roughly 500 jobs and more than $24 million in production. Over 70 percent of that work is original IP owned in Edmonton. Since 2022, Edmonton Screen has put nearly half a million dollars behind the sector's growth.
Artificial Agency makes three moves, including a new COO
Edmonton's Artificial Agency, which builds a generative behaviour engine that makes game characters act less scripted, had a busy quarter. It started a machine learning residency with Amii, made its first acquisition in Reflection Tree, and named Greg Canessa chief operating officer. Canessa brings 25 years at Activision Blizzard, Xbox and Google.
NorQuest College ends its esports program
NorQuest College ended its esports program on April 7, citing reorganization and financial realities. The program ran varsity teams and the Campus Clash youth league, and paid students to help run events like Game Con Canada. An esports business microcredential, government-funded and added months earlier, is gone too.
Edmonton Screen sends 10 teams to Game Con Canada and NAGIS
Edmonton Screen sent 10 teams to the show floor this year. Five student teams from NAIT, MacEwan and the University of Alberta came through the Trailhead Program. Five investment-ready studios, including Lucid Rain Studios, Caldera Interactive and Daisy Chain Games, came through Summit Push, and headed to Gamescom in Cologne in August.
The Rabbit Haul hits 100 percent positive at Steam Next Fest
Caldera Interactive, a team of three, took its farming tower-defence roguelite The Rabbit Haul to Steam Next Fest in June. The demo held a 100 percent positive rating among nearly 5,000 demos, in the festival's biggest edition yet. A full launch and Switch release were set for later in the year.
vrCAVE opens Cyberscape, its 10th VR escape room
vrCAVE launched Cyberscape, its 10th VR escape room, with a launch party at partner venue Game OVR on June 3. The night leaned into dystopian corporate satire, with employee ID badges and demotivational posters. vrCAVE joined us on a previous episode.
Inflexion Games ships Conan Exiles Enhanced for Funcom
Inflexion Games shipped someone else's game. Conan Exiles Enhanced, a free Unreal Engine 5 overhaul for Funcom, launched May 5 after 16 months of work, with over 10,000 assets rebuilt and the install size cut nearly in half. The trade-off: Nightingale was parked to make it happen.
Calgary game industry news
Calgary's Indie Rodeo launches September 11 and 12
The Calgary Game Developers Association is launching Indie Rodeo, a two-day indie games conference at Platform Calgary on September 11 and 12. Day one covers the business of games through Calgary Games Kiln. Day two is craft: art, engineering, legal, production and marketing. A pass also gets you into the Calgary site for Alberta Game Jam, which follows September 25 to 27.
400 students compete at the Alberta Esports Championship
Bow Valley College's Esports Arena hosted the third annual Alberta Esports Championship on May 9 and 10. More than 400 junior high and high school students from across the province competed in Smash Bros., Rocket League and Valorant. Lethbridge Collegiate Institute swept all three titles.
CGDA's Arcade Jam bans AI-generated assets
The Calgary Game Developers Association ran Arcade Jam 2026 from May 8 to 17, challenging teams of five to build original arcade-style games over two weekends. Think simple controls, addictive loops and high scores. AI-generated code, art and audio were explicitly banned from entries.
KIB Games levels up Gothic Hell: Survivors
Calgary husband-and-wife studio KIB Games ran its horror survival game Gothic Hell: Survivors through an Xsolla-backed accelerator last fall. The payoff followed: features in IGN and Famitsu, a Calgary Arts Development grant and an Epic MegaGrant. Big validation for a two-person team.
Fortress Games brings Zero State Agent to Game Con Canada
Calgary's Fortress Games showed Zero State Agent in Game Con Canada's Studio Showcase. Picture Metal Gear-style stealth mixed with Valheim-style survival, set in the Canadian wilderness. It supports co-op, every map is randomized, and the Steam page is live for wishlists.
Alberta-wide gaming and esports news
Alberta studios sweep CGMagazine's Game Con Canada indie awards
CGMagazine's Best Indie Games honours from Game Con Canada went mostly to Alberta. Edmonton's Lucid Rain Studios won Best Game for INFERIUS, a horror deck-builder with tarot-card combat. Calgary's The Foundation took Best Art Style for the black-and-white Project Visceral, and Calgary's RetroDragon Entertainment won Best Gameplay for the NES-inspired The Path of Kana. Best Studio went to BuriedCandy, a streamer-run project called The Calling.
Alberta Scholastic Esports League posts its first annual report
The Alberta Scholastic Esports League released its first annual report: more than 500 students engaged across 10-plus events, and member schools swept every spot at the Spring National Open. The Alberta Esports Championship in Calgary also delivered an estimated $880,000 in economic impact for the city. We had ASEL's Shadi Hanna on the show if you want the full story.
Alberta's regulated iGaming market goes live
Alberta's regulated iGaming market went live July 13, making it the second province after Ontario to open online gambling to private operators. It isn't a games story on its own, but it comes bundled with licensed esports betting on League of Legends, Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2.
Edmonton and Calgary rank on Dealroom's Rising Stars list
Dealroom's 2026 Global Tech Ecosystem Index named Edmonton 18th in North America for Rising Stars, with gaming among its top three sectors. Calgary came in ninth on the same list. Two Alberta cities, one growing reputation.
Alberta in the national spotlight
Canada Media Fund adds $15M for interactive digital media
The Canada Media Fund grew its interactive digital media budget by $15 million, bringing the pool to $57 million. Alberta studios pulled in $4.8 million of that funding in 2025, third in the country behind Quebec and Ontario and ahead of British Columbia. Digital Alberta helped push for the increase through its advocacy work.
CGMagazine and MobileSyrup put NAGIS on the national map
After the summit, CGMagazine called NAGIS "a strong first step toward something bigger", drawing a line to Montreal's MIGS and San Francisco's GDC. MobileSyrup made a related point: Canada is among the world's top game producers, yet "there are very few major consumer-facing events here." That's the gap Game Con Canada and NAGIS are filling.
Saskatoon's Sour Circuit Studios wins Most Innovative
Game Con Canada drew talent from well beyond Alberta. Saskatoon's Sour Circuit Studios took CGMagazine's Most Innovative award for Shuffles 'n Scuffles, a sign the Edmonton show is pulling in studios from across the Prairies.
ASEL brings Alberta esports to CEGIS in Vancouver
Shadi Hanna of the Alberta Scholastic Esports League spoke on a Video Games in the Classroom panel at CEGIS, the Canadian Esports and Gaming Industry Summit in Vancouver. He shared the stage with Geoffrey Lachapelle and Glen Hamilton.
Roundtable: what NAGIS year one meant for Alberta
NAGIS, the North American Games Industry Summit, ran June 18 and 19 at the Edmonton EXPO Centre, right before Game Con Canada. It sold out in year one, and Edmonton Screen's recap counts 386 industry attendees, 225 companies from 12 countries and 488 meetings. Here's what our guests took from it.
It was international from day one. Ronnie Villanueva, digital media and technology specialist at Edmonton Screen, said close to 60 studios showcased, mostly from Alberta, with others from Ontario, the Maritimes and the U.S. Publishers came from the UK, France, Brazil, China, the U.S. and Canada. "For its first year I was pleasantly surprised to see how it already was an international event."
Attendees would come back. Ronnie pointed to a survey where 96 percent of attendees said they'd recommend NAGIS. Edmonton Screen's recap puts "very or extremely likely to recommend" at 85 percent. Either way, it's a strong number for a first-year event.
One studio beat its PAX numbers. A showcasing studio told Ronnie it got more foot traffic and wishlists at NAGIS than at PAX, before Game Con Canada's consumer days even started. "For its first year to already show results similar to what they received at events like PAX, it starts to become a clear investment."
Alberta showed up as one province. Brett Miller of CGDA worked with GameCamp, the Lethbridge Game Developers Guild and Red Deer Game Developers to build an Alberta mega booth at Game Con Canada. Craig Pfau of Alberta Makes Games was represented too. Brett heard the MeetToMatch publisher meetings were "a huge bonus to the developers."
Panels versus meetings is a real trade-off. Most of NAGIS's panels landed on day one, so small teams had to choose between panels and publisher meetings. Ronnie still rated the mix: IP law, UX and UI talks, Nolan Bushnell's keynote and the BioWare reunion panel all spoke directly to founders.
Each event needs its own identity. Brett sees NAGIS as the place to pitch and find publishing, and Indie Rodeo as the place to build craft. "Making sure that we maintain those unique identities."
NAGIS is a stepping stone to Gamescom. Ronnie noted NAGIS and Game Con Canada follow the Gamescom model. Edmonton Screen's five Summit Push studios used Edmonton to practise before Cologne, where past attendance hit 355,000. "It's not just about a short-term wishlist here and there. All of these little steps help create a more sustainable studio."
What's next. Explore Edmonton has committed to five years of hosting, and NAGIS plans to grow its indie developer floor from roughly 55 booths to 250, plus a new hardware and technology showcase zone.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is NAGIS?
NAGIS is the North American Games Industry Summit, a business-to-business games industry event held at the Edmonton EXPO Centre alongside Game Con Canada. Its first edition ran June 18 and 19, 2026, and sold out.
How many video game studios are in Edmonton?
Edmonton had 68 active video game studios in 2025, according to Edmonton Screen, supporting roughly 500 jobs and more than $24 million in production.
What is Indie Rodeo?
Indie Rodeo is a two-day indie game development conference in Calgary, run by the Calgary Game Developers Association at Platform Calgary on September 11 and 12, 2026.
How much CMF funding did Alberta game studios receive? Alberta studios received $4.8 million from the Canada Media Fund's interactive digital media pool in 2025, third in Canada behind Quebec and Ontario.
Listen to the full episode
Got a trailer dropping, funding news or breaking news from the Alberta scene? We want to hear about it. Catch the full conversation on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube, follow Good Game Edmonton on Instagram and LinkedIn, and browse the Alberta Gaming & Esports Directory for the studios behind these stories.
The Alberta Games Quarterly Roundup is presented with Digital Alberta.
