Five B.C.-based video game studios are the first recipients of funding through the new Canada Media Fund Creative BC video game development program

Toronto and Vancouver, March 25, 2025 — The Canada Media Fund (CMF) and Creative BC announce the first recipients of funding for video game development through a joint $1M investment supporting the growth of five B.C.-based video game studios. 

Announced in August 2024, the CMF-Creative BC Video Games Business Development Program allocates funding to B.C.-owned and controlled companies to develop creative intellectual properties, encouraging growth for mid-level and experienced studios beyond the constraints of project-by-project funding. The five successful applicants will each receive $200,000 in funding.  

Eligible costs include market research, labour and personnel, technology content and design, online content and application development (including copyright clearance, documentation, design, and development), technical and administrative expenses, travel costs (such as accommodation, airfare, and per diem), legal, accounting, and consulting fees, activities to open foreign markets, and playtesting for QA and usability. 

The following B.C. companies will receive support: 

1. Critical Path Games Ltd., Burnaby 
2. Blue Wizard Digital Inc., Comox 
3. Kano Applications Inc., Victoria 
4. Brace Yourselves Games Inc., Vancouver 
5. Yumebau Inc., Vancouver 

View a list of the recipients by program online here.    

The Video Games Business Development program is supported in part by the Province of British Columbia’s historic announcement made on April 19, 2023, of $3M over three years through 2027 to support innovation and growth for independent B.C.-owned interactive digital media companies. 

Quotes: 

Honourable Spencer Chandra Herbert, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, and Sport
“B.C. is home to some of the most talented and innovative video game creators in the world. This partnership with the Canada Media Fund provides B.C. companies with an essential boost to develop original games, grow their businesses, and compete on the global stage. Funding will help to generate new and exciting products, which will drive economic growth and generate good paying jobs. I look forward to playing these games when they hit the market!”

Prem Gill, CEO, Creative BC
“Creative BC is proud to invest in these successful video game companies, whose award-winning IP continues to shape B.C.’s thriving gaming ecosystem. We are grateful to the Province of B.C. for its ongoing commitment to the interactive and digital media industry—most notably through the permanence of the Interactive + Digital Media Tax Credit and this program, supported in part by the Canada Media Fund. Gaming alone contributes $1.9 billion to B.C.’s total GDP, underscoring the industry’s vital role in the province’s economy.”

Valerie Creighton, President and CEO
“The CMF is delighted to support these five B.C. studios as they grow and create even more original intellectual property. This partnership with Creative BC is proof that collaboration yields fantastic results for our creators and our industry. We can’t wait to see what these studios create.” 

Loc Dao, Executive Director, DigiBC
“DigiBC is grateful for the support from Creative BC, the Province of B.C. and the CMF for the creative technology sector and B.C. companies receiving support to develop IP and create jobs.”

Jeanne Marie Owens, Co-owner, Critical Path Games, Program Recipient
“Being selected for Creative BC and Canada Media Fund’s pilot Video Games Business Development Program creates significant opportunity for us. As a new independent studio, we would not normally be able to access market data or run significant in-depth user testing. This grant unlocks the opportunity for us to prioritize this work and bring a better product to market for gamers around the world. As long-time B.C. game developers, we appreciate that this fund was specifically designed to support B.C.-based game companies in thriving within an increasingly competitive industry.” 

About the Canada Media Fund
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) fosters, develops, finances, and promotes the production of Canadian content and applications for all audiovisual media platforms. The CMF guides Canadian content towards a competitive global environment by fostering industry innovation, rewarding success, enabling a diversity of voice, and promoting access to content through public and private sector partnerships. The CMF receives financial contributions from the Government of Canada and Canada’s cable, satellite, and IPTV distributors. Visit our website for more information

About Creative BC
Creative BC is an independent society created and supported by the Province to sustain and help grow British Columbia’s creative industries: motion picture, interactive and digital media, music and sound recording, and magazine and book publishing. The organization delivers a wide range of programs and services with a mandate to expand B.C.’s creative economy. These activities include: administration of the provincial government’s motion picture tax credit programs; delivery of program funding and export marketing support for the sector; and provincial film commission services. Combined, these activities serve to attract inward investment and market B.C. as a partner and destination of choice for domestic and international content creation. The agency acts as an industry catalyst and ambassador to help B.C.’s creative sector reach its economic, social, environmental, and creative potential both at home and globally. Website: www.creativebc.com

Media Contacts
Lisa Escudero
Manager, Brand and Communications, Creative BC
lescudero@creativebc.com
+1 604-730-2235

Maxime Ruel
Senior Manager, Communications, CMF
mruel@cmf-fmc.ca

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Recipient Company Backgrounders:
Critical Path | Critical Path Games was founded in 2024 by industry veterans Jesse Houston and Jeanne-Marie Owens. Critical Path is currently in the early concept validation phase for their debut title, codenamed Project: Echo. Scheduled for release in early 2027, the game will feature full cross-play and cross-progression across modern-generation consoles and PC. Critical Path anticipates that their Burnaby-based studio to grow from 7 to 30+ over the course of development, all locally based. Prior to Critical Path Games, from 2014 to 2023, Jesse and Jeanne-Marie led Phoenix Labs, the highly-successful developer behind Dauntless and Fae Farm.  

Brace Yourself Games | Founded in 2011, Brace Yourself Games is an award-winning Vancouver studio known for redefining genres. Our breakout hit, Crypt of the NecroDancer, blended dungeon crawling with music-based combat, inspiring a new wave of rhythm games. Our diverse portfolio showcases compelling experiences across genres, from the tactical depth and unique command system of Phantom Brigade to the rhythmic action of the highly anticipated Rift of the NecroDancer. Founder Ryan Clark and CEO Kimberly Voll bring extensive game-making experience spanning AAA to indie and share a deep commitment to remaining an independent B.C. studio and building a better games industry in B.C., and beyond.  

Kano | Kano is an independent studio founded and headquartered in Victoria, BC, that develops original IP free-2-play social and mobile games. Since inception, Kano has released 12 gaming titles with over 35 million downloads and close to $100M in sales. Founded in 2008 by three UVic grads and now employing thirty-eight employees in Canada, with thirty-one of those in BC, Kano continues to generate revenue through its 7 live production games including Mob Wars, Idle Distiller and Monster Country.  

Blue Wizard Digital | Blue Wizard Digital, a Comox-based studio founded in 2015 by industry veteran Jason Kapalka, creates games for mobile, PC, console, and web browser. The studio’s first releases, Space Tyrant and Slayaway Camp, earned critical acclaim, establishing it as a creator of original, humorous, and visually striking games. Subsequent titles include cross-platform hit Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle, web-based shooter Shell Shockers, and the Bros franchise of sports games. Previously, as co-founder of PopCap Games, Jason was instrumental in creating iconic titles like Bejeweled, Peggle, and Plants vs. Zombies. Under his leadership, PopCap was acquired by EA in 2011.  

Yumebau | Yumebau is both a games studio and lab for emerging platforms. As a studio, Yumebau creates original IP that emphasizes originality and “purposeful play” for the new era of spatial computing (VR/AR/MR) and user generated platforms. As a lab, it partners with leading tech companies like Meta (Quest VR), Epic Games (Fortnite) and Microsoft (Hololens) to design world-class gaming experiences. The Yumebau team are software engineers who make art, artists who paint with nodes, and architects who code. The studio proudly proclaims that their products are “Designed in Vancouver, Made for the World.”