Vancouver, B.C. (March 13, 2026) — The Canada Media Fund (CMF) and Creative BC announce the second round of recipients selected to receive funding for video game development through their joint $1M investment, which supports the growth of five B.C.–based video game studios.
Announced in August 2024, the Video Games Business Development Program (the Program), allocates funding to British Columbia-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, legal, accounting, and consulting fees, activities to open foreign markets, and playtesting for QA and usability.
The following B.C. companies will receive support:
- Codename Entertainment, Victoria
- Hyper Hippo, Kelowna
- Hololabs, Victoria
- Maggie’s Farm, Vancouver
- The Grand Tableau Studios, Vancouver
View a list of the recipients by program online here.
The 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 Anne Kang, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, and Sport
“B.C. is home to some of the world’s most talented and innovative video game creators. This partnership with the Canada Media Fund provides B.C. studios the support they need to develop original games, strengthen their businesses, and compete globally. This investment will help bring exciting new products to market, drive economic growth, and create good-paying jobs. I look forward to seeing—and playing—the incredible games that emerge from this partnership.”
Prem Gill, CEO, Creative BC
“B.C.’s video game creators are building world‑class experiences, and Creative BC is proud to champion the studios behind this remarkable work. We are grateful to the Province of B.C. and the CMF for their ongoing commitment to B.C.’s interactive digital media industry. Thanks to this support over the last 2 years, 10 companies have now been able to develop new IP and scale their ideas to expand the reach of their businesses.”
Valerie Creighton, President and CEO, Canada Media Fund
“We’re thrilled to support a new cohort of B.C. studios as they grow their business and deepen their contributions to the global gaming landscape. This program, and our excellent partnership with Creative BC, underscores the power of collaboration to grow local intellectual properties, create high-quality jobs, and strengthen Canada’s presence in the interactive entertainment sector. We look forward to seeing the innovative work these studios will bring to players around the world.”
Loc Dao, Executive Director, DigiBC
“Government support programs like the Canada Media Fund and Creative BC’s Video Games Business Development Program play a vital role in strengthening Canadian-owned companies that create high-quality jobs and build globally competitive intellectual property. By investing $1 million into five B.C.–based studios and supporting critical business development costs—from talent and technology to market expansion and professional services—this initiative enables sustainable growth, international competitiveness, and long-term economic impact within Canada’s creative technology ecosystem.”
Eric Jordan, CEO, Codename Entertainment, Program Recipient
“Support from Creative BC and the Canada Media Fund allows us to accelerate the development of a shared game pipeline and invest in long-term capacity here in British Columbia. This funding helps us move faster, hire locally, and build reusable technology that supports multiple future titles, starting with Without A Hitch. We’re proud to continue growing Codename Entertainment in Victoria while creating games designed to bring friends together through cooperation rather than competition.”
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 the CMF 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 + Communications, Creative BC
media@creativebc.com
Maxime Ruel
Senior Manager, Communications, CMF
mruel@cmf-fmc.ca
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Recipient Company Backgrounders:
Maggie’s Farm | A Vancouver–based video game studio composed of modders as well as Indie and AAA industry veterans. The team’s prior work includes contributions to genre‑defining, award‑winning teamwork‑focused titles such as Project Reality, the indie breakout hit Squad, and major AAA franchises including Battlefield, Need for Speed, and Star Wars Battlefront.
Codename Entertainment | An award-winning independent video game studio founded in 2008 in Victoria, B.C. Over the past 17 years, the studio has launched nine commercially successful titles and built a direct marketing channel that reaches 5.1 million players. Today, the studio has grown to a team of 34 B.C.-based employees. It continues to operate proudly as a bootstrapped company, with all shareholders residing in the province and actively contributing to the studio’s success.
Hyper Hippo | An independent mobile game developer and publisher founded in 2013 in Kelowna. It has become a global leader in the idle genre, recognized for creating original Canadian IP that reaches millions of players worldwide. The studio blends creativity with a player-centric, data-informed approach to design. This balance allows the company to deliver short-form, meaningful experiences that resonate deeply with audiences while sustaining long-term growth.
Hololabs | A creative technology studio founded in 2011 and dedicated to bringing games and immersive experiences to life through innovation, play, and meaningful user engagement. Rooted in video game development, the studio has evolved to be a leader in immersive experiences, location-based entertainment (LBE), and mixed reality gaming.
The Grand Tableau Studios | The company was founded in February 2025 by three industry veterans, including a founder of Iron Oak Games, whose collaborative history spans multiple successful commercial releases. Their team has extensive collaborative experience on shipped commercial titles including ModNation Racers, Sleeping Dogs, LittleBigPlanet Karting, and For The King I & II, proving their ability to work together effectively under commercial pressure and deliver market-ready products.