A total of 10 B.C.-based studios are showcasing their mobile gaming software at London's Pocket Gamer Connects conference, where British Columbia’s Level Up Pavilion opened yesterday, Jan. 22, 2018.

“Mobile gaming continues to play an important role in B.C.’s economy, and our government is working to establish the province as a preferred location for this industry,” said Bruce Ralston, Minister of Jobs, Trade and Technology. “B.C. companies are presenting their leading-edge capabilities and making valuable connections with industry leaders and investors from around the globe.”

B.C. is home to one of the oldest video game clusters in North America. In the early 1980s, Distinctive Software began producing games software, which led to other major developers such as EA Canada, Relic and Radical entering the market. Today, the province has a strong and internationally recognized interactive-game development cluster, housing over 150 companies and employing nearly 6,000 people full-time in 2017, including a thriving mobile-gaming sector.

Pocket Gamer Connects London (PG Connects London) is being held Jan. 22-23, with more than 2,000 delegates from over 55 countries attending.

“At PG Connects London, these representatives of Vancouver and British Columbia’s fast-growing mobile games development and virtual, augmented and mixed-reality sectors will be able to find new clients, advance their company brands and profiles, and follow up on valuable co-production leads,” said Nancy Mott, executive director of the Vancouver Economic Commission’s Film & Media Centre. “This is our third time bringing a studio delegation to PG Connects London, and we are pleased to continue the expansion of this program to better represent B.C.’s vibrant games-development industry.”

The 10 B.C. gaming companies attending the conference are:

• Biba – Vancouver
• Cooper’s New Reality Garage Inc. – Vancouver
• East Side Games – Vancouver
• Motives.io – Burnaby
• Mythical City Games – Vancouver
• Pocket Pinata Interactive – Burnaby
• Saturn Animation Studios Inc. – Kelowna
• Session Games Inc. – Vancouver
• Smoking Gun Interactive Inc – Vancouver
• V2 Games – Vancouver

“This is our third year participating in the Pocket Gamer Connects conference, and we couldn’t be more excited,” said Sam Chandola, CEO of V2 Games in Vancouver. “We have just closed a $10-million fund to invest in game ventures, and we are looking forward to making Canadian investments around the world through the support of the B.C. government organizing this delegation.”

Pocket Gamer Connects is billed as the largest mobile-gaming-industry gathering where international developers and publishers can do business, network, track industry trends and access consumer and industry media.

The Ministry of Jobs, Trade and Technology partnered with the Vancouver Economic Commission to organize the B.C. delegation and provide marketing support, with help from Creative BC and B.C.’s Trade and Investment Representative Office in London.

“Pocket Gamer Connects gives me the industry insight that I need to bring my business to the next level. I am very excited to build my company’s global connection and to learn more about the upcoming industry trends,” said Nazim Ragimov, director of Kelowna’s Saturn Animation Studios.

Quick Facts:

• British Columbia is recognized as a leader in interactive-game development – 25.5% of Canada’s interactive-entertainment companies are based in B.C.
• The Government of British Columbia offers targeted financial support for digital production through Creative BC, both for animation and VFX in motion pictures, as well as for interactive and digital media projects — including interactive gaming and application development.
• B.C.’s gaming industry employs an ever-increasing number of talented people, enjoys strong foreign investment and hosts companies — including Electronic Arts (EA), Microsoft Studios, Relic Entertainment/SEGA, Capcom Vancouver, Klei Entertainment, BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment, Skybox Labs, Codename Entertainment, Blackbird Interactive, hyper Hippo, Cloudhead Games and Kabam.
• The gaming industry will also be represented at B.C.’s upcoming 2018 #BCTECH Summit, held May 14-16, 2018, in Vancouver. This summit is co-hosted by the Province of B.C. and its Crown agency, the BC Innovation Council.

Learn More:

To learn more about Pocket Gamer Connects – London, visit: http://www.pgconnects.com/london/

To learn more about Vancouver Economic Commission visit and the companies attending: http://www.vancouvereconomic.com/blog/news/vancouver-british-columbia-back-level-biggest-mobile-games-conference-europe/

To learn more about the upcoming #BCTECH Summit in Vancouver, B.C. visit: https://bctechsummit.ca