Everything happening in the Ontario video games industry this week courtesy of Interactive Ontario and CONTINUE!

Skate City: New York Arrives January 9th  

Dive into the energy of the Big Apple with Skate City: New York! Glide through iconic city centers, bustling subway stations, and colorful neighborhoods in this stylish skateboarding adventure by Agens and Toronto developer, Snowman. Launching on Apple Arcade January 9th, 2025 – pre-order now to be among the first to ride!

Pre-order: https://apple.co/skate-city-ny

Exploring Gaming’s Role in Education and Inclusion  

In the third episode of Lights, Camera, Inclusion, Dr. Kris Alexander, Associate Professor of Game Design at Toronto Metropolitan University, delves into the transformative potential of gaming as an educational tool. He highlights the importance of curating games for young audiences and explores the connection between inclusion, belonging, and creativity.

Watch the full episode here.

Ontario Indie Games Shine in Winter 2024 Showcases

Pushing Vertices’ RollerGirl – a small-town Ontario set action-adventure game – featured in the Black Voices in Gaming Showcase. Creative Lead Indigo Doyle showed off some amazing new footage and talked about the role of music in the game.

In other showcase news, Ontario indie studios Thousand Stars and Kitten Cup Studio (Pekoe) both took part in the Wholesome Snack 2024 Showcase. Thousand Stars debuted the demo trailer for their Bollywood-inspired fantasy RPG Aikyam – simultaneously releasing the demo on Playstation, Xbox, and Steam – and Kitten Cup announced their new game Capy Castaway, a cozy exploration game that teams up a crow and a capybara.

Watch the full Black Voices in Gaming 2024 Winter Showcase here
Watch the full Wholesome Snack 2024 Showcase here

Dark Slope Leads the Way in Green Energy for Virtual Production  

Dark Slope, Toronto’s innovative virtual production studio, has partnered with Bullfrog Power to become the first soundstage in Canada to offer green energy options for its clients and power its own operations sustainably. Through renewable energy certificates (RECs), producers can offset 100% of their electricity emissions, making eco-friendly productions more accessible. Dark Slope also provides resources on sustainable practices, cementing its commitment to decarbonization in the industry.

Click here for more information.

ICYMI: Interactive Ontario’s Holiday Mixer Celebrates Ontario’s Creative Industries

On December 4th, 2024, the Interactive Ontario Holiday Mixer brought together over 450 video game and XR, interactive media, and music industry professionals at Toronto’s Arcadian Loft. The festive evening featured networking, stunning views of Nathan Phillips Square, and impressive game demos, including Mega Power Games’ DepowerBall, Peculiar Path, the student project Hazardous Hardware, clever roguelike Reply All, and more!

With a lively DJ and a warm, collaborative atmosphere, the event highlighted the strength and creativity of Ontario’s vibrant digital industries, leaving attendees inspired for what the future holds for the province.

Check out some of these links to see what was missed:

A Gaming Network

Interactive Ontario (LinkedIn)

Stay tuned for bi-weekly updates on everything happening in the Ontario video game and immersive industries!