Toronto Video Game Month, XP Game Summit, Giant Video Games & More

The City of Toronto has officially proclaimed June as Toronto Video Game Month, becoming the first city in Canada to formally recognize and proudly celebrate our dynamic and innovative creative sector. Toronto Games Week also made history a few years ago, as the first event of its kind in the country, inspiring other cities to follow suit.

Over the past two weeks, the strength and vibrancy of Ontario’s video game community, both in Toronto and across the province, has never been more evident. And it’s all because of you, our incredible community of video game studios, talented professionals, event organizers, supporters, and partners. Your creativity, dedication, and collaborative spirit brought these celebrations to life and reminded us all why Ontario’s video game industry is so special. Whether you organized, hosted, spoke, exhibited, or simply showed up to cheer others on, you helped build something truly unforgettable.

From all of us at Interactive Ontario: thank you for your passion, your presence, and your commitment to growing this vibrant, world-class community. We’re proud to stand with you, and can’t wait to see what you’ll do next.

The Canada Malting Silos lit up with massive projections of Toronto-made video games as part of Giant Video Games, a spectacular opening celebration for Toronto Games Week. Attendees explored a vibrant arcade of locally developed titles, immersed themselves in the larger-than-life display of Ontario video game talent under the open sky, and enjoyed the energy of a city-wide celebration of games. We were honoured to welcome Mayor Olivia Chow, who joined us to speak and celebrate the city’s thriving video game sector.

Thank you to the City of Toronto for orchestrating such a memorable evening, and to our fellow partners OCAD University and Toronto Games Week. And thank you to the event community supporters, sponsor Unity, and photographer Yevi Kaliuzhka for providing such captivating imagery of the night.

Finally, a heartfelt thank you to all of the participating studios, both as part of the projection display and the lively arcade section. You are what made this event iconic!

Interactive Ontario proudly returned as a supporter of XP Game Summit 2025 with our curated Indie Superboost (ISB) Track, featuring 16 sessions designed to help indie studios expand their business, visibility, and global market reach.

As one of the cornerstone events of Toronto Video Game Month, XP Game Summit 2025 was a massive success, bringing together a record number of attendees and international participants, including the 18 publishers XP Gaming, the Canadian Interactive Alliance (CIAIC), and Interactive Ontario brought in with the support of the Government of Canada.

Interactive Ontario’s Indie Superboost Committee hosted a lively panel discussion on balancing the creative and business sides of making games. Thank you to the committee for offering your personal insights and ISB’s trademark candidness to this conversation, and your invaluable contributions to the ISB initiative.

Bravo to Soft Rains for winning the Indie Game Showcase award at XP Game Summit Toronto for Ambrosia Sky. Thank you to all the participating studios, partners, and stakeholders who contributed to making this year’s XP Game Summit such a standout hit! A special shout-out to our Indie Superboost Track partners, Ontario Creates and Ubisoft Toronto.

The G.R.I.D. welcomed developers to participate in the first-ever structured playtesting event in Toronto! Held at George Brown’s Waterfront Campus, indie studios and solo devs shared in-progress projects, received honest feedback, and connected with others navigating the highs and lows of game development.

Bravo to OK_XR and Games by Stitch for receiving finalist honours, and to Ravine Studios for winning the Industry Choice Award for North Shore. Thank you to all participating studios and playtesters, to Antonio Miceli (Mega Power Games) for his vision and leadership, and to the partners who made this collaborative and inspiring evening possible!

As part of Toronto Video Game Month, Pixel Power Play delivered the first event of its kind in Canada, an exciting hybrid initiative spotlighting upcoming game releases, industry announcements, and high-quality gameplay from studios across Canada and beyond. Influencers and attendees experienced live demos, developer insights, gameplay reveals, and more. Online viewers were treated to trailer premieres, in-depth dev interviews, and live gameplay from a dynamic lineup of developers.

Thank you to Marcel Dee for your vision and leadership, to Steve Vegvari for working hand-in-hand with Marcel on realizing it, and to all partners, influencers, and studios who took part in bringing this high-energy celebration of games to life. A special shout-out to Ontario Creates and Ubisoft Toronto for your support of the Indie Superboost game demo station.

Interactive Ontario’s Indie Superboost (ISB) Marketing & Discoverability Bootcamp, a full-day, in-person workshop designed to help Ontario studios elevate their market presence and prepare for international growth, made its return during Toronto Video Game Month. Held at HQ, Creative Enterprise Hub at TMU, the program brought together ten studios for a hands-on experience led by two of the industry’s most respected voices in marketing and community strategy, Krysta Yang (Co-Founder, Never A Minute Marketing), and Jenny Windom (Communications Director, Ivy Road, Host, Wholesome Games).

Thank you to Krysta and Jenny, and to all the participating studios for your engagement, insights, and energy throughout the day. And a special thank you to the Canada Media Fund, Ontario Creates, Ubisoft Toronto, Trade Commissioner Service, and The Creative Enterprise Hub/TMU for your generous support.

Xsolla Connect Toronto brought industry movers and shakers together at the CN Tower for a memorable evening of networking and thought-provoking discussions. Thank you to IO Leading Partner Xsolla, for your ongoing commitment to Ontario’s game development sector!

And if all of that wasn’t enough, Toronto Video Game Month still has more to come. Next up is VRTO 2025, where a number of Interactive Ontario members will be taking the stage to share insights and showcase their latest VR titles in the Exhibition Hall. IO Members receive an exclusive members-only discount, so please contact us for details. Also taking place are major esports events such as the Valorant Masters and GOML, the Canadian Fighting Game Championships. Learn more about what’s to come at the link below.

Our Mission: To inspire, unite and enable Ontario’s video game and interactive digital media community to achieve long-term growth and prosperity.