You've almost certainly played a Canadian game without realizing it and since today is "Canada Day", we're celebrating that!
Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, EA Sports FC (the old FIFA), NHL, Dead by Daylight, and Don't Starve were all built by studios based in Canada. The country is quite honestly one of the biggest game development hubs we have, and a lot of its output carries no maple leaf on the box =(.
Here's a rundown of the studios and the massive franchises they're behind.
Why So Many Games Come From Canada
Two things turned Canada into a games powerhouse: talent and tax breaks. When Ubisoft opened its Montreal studio, it did so with a helping hand from the government. The studio was founded in April 1997 as part of Ubisoft's growth into worldwide markets, with subsidies from the governments of Montreal, Quebec, and Canada to help create new multimedia jobs. That model worked so well it pulled in other developers and publishers, and today cities like Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto, and Edmonton are packed with studios.
Ubisoft Montreal: Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, Watch Dogs
If you've climbed a viewpoint or synchronized a map, thank Montreal. Ubisoft's Quebec (French Canada) studio didn't start with huge hits though. The studio's initial products were low-profile children's games based on existing intellectual property such as Disney's Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers which released in 2000. Ubisoft Montreal's true break-out titles were 2002's Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell and 2003's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.
From there it, honestly, became a franchise factory. The studio continued to develop sequels and related games in both series, and developing its own intellectual properties such as Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, Watch Dogs, and For Honor. By October 2022, the studio employed over 4,000 staff, making it the largest in the world. Fun bit of history: the open-world design that defined Assassin's Creed grew directly out of that Prince of Persia work, since the newer hardware allowed them to expand the linear gameplay from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time into an open world.
It sure is a shame we never got that remake.
BioWare: Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Baldur's Gate
Some of the most beloved role-playing games ever made came out of Edmonton, Alberta. BioWare is a Canadian video game developer based in Edmonton, Alberta, founded in 1995 by newly graduated medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip. Yeah, doctors. They built a medical simulation program which provided them the funding to launch BioWare.
They built the studio around role-playing games and hit it outta the park. BioWare specializes in role-playing video games, and achieved recognition for developing highly praised and successful licensed franchises: Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - though not Baldur's Gate 3, that was Larian Studios.
Then came the original worlds that made the studio a household name for RPG fans. They proceeded to make several other successful games based on original intellectual property: Jade Empire, the Mass Effect series, and the Dragon Age series. BioWare also went the MMO route. In 2011, BioWare launched their first massively multiplayer online role-playing game, Star Wars: The Old Republic. If you've been keeping tabs, the studio has been Canadian in home base but American in ownership for a while now. Since 2007, the company has been owned by American publisher Electronic Arts.
EA Vancouver: EA Sports FC (FIFA), NHL, and More
Every FIFA and NHL game you've ever loaded up traces back to a studio in Burnaby, British Columbia. EA Vancouver, formerly known as EA Burnaby then EA Canada, is a Canadian video game developer located in Burnaby, British Columbia. It's also older than most people assume. The development studio opened as Distinctive Software in January 1983, and is also Electronic Arts' largest and oldest studio.
This place is enormous and it's the brain behind EA's sports empire. EA Vancouver employs approximately 1,300 people, and houses a huge video game test operation. It is best known for developing a lot of EA Sports and EA Sports BIG titles, including EA Sports FC (formerly FIFA), NHL, SSX, NBA Street, NFL Street, EA Sports UFC, and FIFA Street titles. Their office even has a full-sized pitch with an EA Sports logo in the center!
Rockstar Toronto: The Studio Behind Ports and The Warriors
Rockstar has a Canadian outpost too, and it's got a longer history than the Rockstar name suggests. Rockstar Toronto, based in Oakville, Ontario, was established as Imagexcel in the early 1980s and developed more than fifteen games, including Quarantine, until 1995. The studio changed hands and names a few times before landing with Rockstar. Take-Two Interactive acquired the studio in July 1997 and moved it to its Rockstar Games label as Rockstar Canada in 1999.
Once inside Rockstar, it handled expansions, ports, and original projects. Rockstar Canada subsequently developed Grand Theft Auto: London 1969, an expansion pack for Grand Theft Auto, as well as several ports for Rockstar Games. With Take-Two's acquisition of Rockstar Vancouver in 2002, Rockstar Canada was renamed Rockstar Toronto, and the studio developed the 2005 game The Warriors, based on the 1979 film of the same name.
Behaviour Interactive: Dead by Daylight
If you've ever been chased by a killer across a foggy map with friends, that's a Montreal production. Behaviour Interactive is a Canadian video game developer and publisher based in Montreal, best known for the online asymmetric multiplayer survival horror game Dead by Daylight from 2016. The studio's roots go back further than the horror hit, though. The company was founded in 1992 in Quebec City as Megatoon.
Dead by Daylight turned into a monster success. In November 2023, it was announced that Dead by Daylight had surpassed the 60-million player milestone. Behaviour has also been buying up talent, including some names you'll recognize. Behaviour acquired Red Hook Studios, the developers of Darkest Dungeon and its sequel, in September 2024, and Red Hook would continue as an independent studio under Behaviour.
Klei Entertainment: Don't Starve and Oxygen Not Included
Some of the hottest indie games of the last decade came out of Vancouver. Klei Entertainment is a Canadian video game development company located in Vancouver, British Columbia. It started small and stayed distinctive. Klei was formed in July 2005 by Jamie Cheng, and their best-known titles include Don't Starve and Oxygen Not Included.
The studio built their reputation for a strong internal culture and a run of stylish releases. It also branched into stealth and strategy with Invisible, Inc., a turn-based espionage game released on May 12, 2015. In 2021 it joined a much bigger family. On January 25, 2021, Klei became a subsidiary of the Chinese holding conglomerate Tencent.
Don't Starve Elsewhere, which was announced earlier this year, is in active development thought has no predicted release date.
Capybara Games: Sword & Sworcery and Below
This one surprised me because I always assumed they were from South America. Sorry!
Toronto's Capybara Games is an award-winning, independent video game studio and is behind a lineup of memorable indie titles. Chances are one of these has crossed your radar. CAPY's games include Grindstone, BELOW, Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, Super Time Force, Critter Crunch, and Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes. The studio has been at it for two decades, since since 2003, they've been making games that explore new worlds and ideas.
Canada, Eh?
Canada is home to the biggest game studio in the world, EA's largest and oldest studio, one of the top RPG makers, a horror juggernaut, and a bunch of beloved indies. Next time you fire up Assassin's Creed, EA Sports FC, Mass Effect, or Dead by Daylight, know that you're playing something made in Canada.
Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians and to everyone else, I hope you have been able to appreciate some of the great art that's been made up here. Up is kind of a crazy word to use, I know many Europeans live more north than most Canadians.
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