Join us for Giant Video Games, TGW, Video Game Month, and IO’s 25th

From XP Game Summit 2026 to the prestigious Canadian Game Awards stage, we were recently reminded of just how much talent, ambition, and dedication make up Ontario’s interactive entertainment sector. Below you can learn about everything that happened and everyone who made it possible, but first, what comes next for Interactive Ontario (IO), its members, and our industry!

Close out Toronto Games Week 2026 in style. IO is proud to partner with Toronto Games Week on the official Closing Party, celebrating our community and our 25th anniversary.

Join us on June 17 from 8 p.m. to midnight at Demo Room (307 Lakeshore Blvd. E.) for one of the best nights of the year. This is a great chance to connect with developers, creators, and interactive entertainment fans from across Toronto and beyond, and celebrate everything that makes this community so special. The night will feature a variety of games, an aerial performance, great music, and more.

Interactive Ontario members receive a special discounted rate, so be sure to select it at checkout.

This celebration is one of over 50 events taking place as part of Toronto Video Game Month. Learn more by visiting the official website here.

Toronto Games Week kicks off with the return of a fan favourite! IO is proud to once again support the exciting and unique Giant Video Games event. Join us on June 11 from 8 p.m to 11 p.m at the Canada Malting Silos (9 Eireann Quay) for a stunning waterfront celebration of Toronto’s game development community. Play from a lineup of over 40 games made right here in the city, projected larger than life against one of Toronto’s most iconic backdrops. Giant Video Games is free and open to all, with no registration required. We look forward to seeing you there!

Produced by the City of Toronto in partnership with Toronto Games Week, with support from Unity, Interactive Ontario, Street Eats Market, OCAD University, Soft Rains, and Waterfront BIA

Also kicking off that same night as part of Toronto Made: The World in a City Illuminated is a breathtaking outdoor projection showcasing work from over 50 local game studios and celebrated creative partners. Presented by the City of Toronto Film & Creative Industries as a UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts initiative and sponsored by the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, the projections light up the historic Canada Malting Silos nightly from June 11 through July 19. We encourage you all to take photos and share your experiences!

IO is proud to return as a gold sponsor of The G.R.I.D, taking place June 12 from 4 p.m to 9 at George Brown Polytechnic.

The G.R.I.D. is a welcoming, behind-the-scenes space where developers can showcase their games and receive constructive feedback, no matter what stage their projects are at.

Developer registration is now closed, but if you are a fan of games and want to get hands-on with some of Ontario’s most exciting works in progress, playtest spots are still open. Sign up and join us on June 12th.

IO members have a unique opportunity to showcase at VRTO 2026, one of Canada’s premier conferences dedicated to spatial media (XR and much more), running June 24 to 26 at OCAD University in Toronto.

We have reserved booth space at the event and are bringing together devs to showcase their work, ranging from XR to games. Exhibits run daily from 12 to 6 p.m. If you are an Interactive Ontario member and interested in showcasing, reach out to us, and we will follow up with details on available time slots. Members also have access to a 30% discount on conference passes.

Not yet a member? If you are interested in leveraging opportunities like this one, get in touch with our team today to learn more about joining Interactive Ontario.

XP Game Summit 2026 gave us a moment we will not soon forget. During the opening ceremony, Jason Lepine (XP Gaming) presented Interactive Ontario with a commemorative plaque marking our 25th anniversary and our work. To our board and executives, past and present, our members and partners, a heartfelt thank you. Everything we achieve at IO, we achieve together.

Interactive Ontario’s presence at XP26 was made possible by countless contributions. Thank you to our ISB Committee for their incredible work on the Indie Superboost Content Track, to every panelist and speaker who was part of it, to Ontario Creates for supporting it, to the studios and Level Up Showcase teams who brought their energy and expertise to the conference floor, and to every attendee and VIP who came out and made the Summit the vibrant, energetic experience it was.

To learn more and to stay in the loop regarding industry events, IO programming and more, you can follow up on LinkedIn and Instagram.

At XP Game Summit, Interactive Ontario hosted a series of VIP Tours, giving government officials an up-close look at the talent, creativity, and innovation powering Ontario’s video game industry.
At the provincial level, we were honoured to welcome Minister Cho, who kicked off the Summit with energizing opening remarks. We also welcomed Minister Nolan Quinn (Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security), Nicolas Bottger (Office of the Premier), Christopher McDowell and Joshua van Marken (Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development); Trent Jennett (Ministry of Citizenship and Multiculturalism) and Sarah Hahn (Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming).

At the federal level, we were honoured to welcome MP Fares Al Soud (Member of Parliament for Mississauga Centre), as well as Jaime Burke and Amy Cervenan from Canadian Heritage, who also joined Interactive Ontario for an exclusive tour of a number of Ontario games at XP.

Our guests had the opportunity to meet, play games with, and hear from some renowned Ontario interactive entertainment studios: BancyCo, Cococucumber, Drinkbox Studios, Little Buffalo Studios, Lofty Sky Entertainment, Ravine Studios, and Behold Studios. Alongside them, emerging talent from Toronto Film School’s Game program and Level Up Showcase 2026 alums Patch’d Up Games, Salty Studios, and The Commuters rounded out an impressive showcase.

Thank you to all Interactive Ontario board directors and members, our colleagues from the Canadian Interactive Alliance (CIAIC) and the ESAC, and Level Up Showcase leaders who participated. And thank you to XP Game Summit for making these tours possible.

On a final note, a special shout-out to Soft Rains for designing the artwork for XP Game Summit 2026 and to City by Naught for winning the pitch competition.

Congratulations to the entire Canadian Game Awards team and to Carl Edwin Michel for an outstanding celebration of the best Canadian games has to offer.

Ontario was well represented throughout the evening. Games by Stitch took home Best VR/AR for Elsewhere Electric, which also earned a nomination for Best Mobile Game. Lofty Sky’s Verse VR was nominated for Best VR/AR, and Soft Rains picked up nominations for Best Indie Game and Best PC Game with Ambrosia Sky: Act One. London’s Digital Extremes was nominated for Studio of the Year, and their title Warframe: The Old Peace was named runner-up for the ESAC Fan Choice Award. A special shoutout to Ubisoft Toronto, whose motion capture expertise supported a number of Ubisoft’s nominated projects.

Congratulations to Femme Gaming for winning the Community Award. What you have done for women’s representation in gaming and esports is truly inspiring. In esports, Shopify Rebellion (Toronto) took home Best Esports and Gaming Organization, and The Raptors GC Tournament won Best Esports Event. The evening also featured a first look at Echo Generation 2 from Cococucumber, which officially launched last week (find it today on Steam and Xbox Game Pass!).

Congratulations to all winners and nominees!

To learn more and to stay in the loop regarding industry events, IO programming and more, you can follow up on LinkedIn and Instagram.

During XP Game Summit week, we delivered the latest edition of our Indie Superboost Marketing and Discoverability Bootcamp, bringing together ten Ontario studios for a day of hands-on learning, honest conversation, and actionable strategies.

A huge thank you to our outstanding speakers: Chris Chancey, Founding Partner of Indie Asylum; Krysta Yang and Kit Ellis, Co-Founders of Never A Minute; and Jenny Windom of Wholesome Games, for generously sharing their expertise with our studios.

This program was made possible with the support of: Ontario Creates, Canada Media Fund, Global Affairs Canada, Triple Dragon, Ubisoft Toronto, Creative Arts Financial, and TMU.

With demand far exceeding what we could accommodate this year, our team is working to ensure the Indie Superboost Marketing and Discoverability Bootcamp will return.

On May 22, Xsolla hosted Xsolla Connect, a powerful networking dinner in downtown Toronto that brought together some of the most influential voices across Ontario’s video game industry. We were thrilled to be part of an evening dedicated to meaningful conversation and celebrating the remarkable talent shaping our sector.

Thank you to Xsolla and John Nguyen and his team for curating such a memorable experience, and for your continued dedication to strengthening the game development community in Ontario, Canada, and beyond. We are proud to have you as a Leading Partner of Interactive Ontario.

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