While the absence of a major anchor studio hurts the sector locally, industry officials say business is burgeoning.
"It's growing, it's bubbling," says Scott Simpson, co-CEO of Ascension and manager of the Ottawa digital media cluster, Generator. "We're an emerging place."
Ascension, formed this past January when Ottawa's bitHeads acquired Toronto's Bedlam Games, announced its new game, Gamma World, at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles earlier this year.
This will be the third title this year to take advantage of the company's new technology, which allows games to be played across both smartphones and gaming consoles such as the Xbox 360.
Ottawa-based RocketOwl, meanwhile, plans to release its first title, a Facebook-based game called GreenSpace, later this year.
Ascension and RocketOwl aren't the only Ottawa video game companies to take advantage of what is quickly becoming a growing industry throughout the country.
With roughly 250 video game companies employing more than 14,000 people, Canada is the third-largest video game producer in the world, behind Japan and the U.S. The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has even identified the video gaming space as an industry that should be promoted internationally.
A study for the department by global consulting firm Nordicity Group Ltd. identified Ottawa as one of the "emerging" video gaming cities in Canada.
While Ottawa will likely never be a major video game producer, Nordicity partner Stuart Jack says the key is finding where this city fits, both nationally and internationally.
He adds Ottawa is similar to cities such as Halifax and Winnipeg. Internationally, he compares the city to Orlando and Glasgow.
Mr. Jack says foreign video game publishers often come to Ottawa to take advantage of several provincial digital media programs and tax credits.
Compared to bigger cities, lower wages also mean Ottawa companies can complete contracts more cheaply. Companies can also draw talent from the strong local animation industry, he says.
Mr. Simpson admits Ottawa will likely never catch up to cities such as Vancouver, Montreal or Toronto, all of whom have major studios - Electronic Arts Canada in Vancouver and Ubisoft in both Toronto and Montreal - that act as anchors for the local industry.
He says it's particularly important for companies in Ottawa to band together for advocacy and promotion. Part of this was the creation of Generator about a year ago.
The head of engineering at Artech Studios, Antonio Santamaria, suggests that not having a major corporate studio has helped develop a culture of working together and communicating between companies.
"We're all kind of in the same boat," he says. "It's been very important for us to work together."
Founded in 1982, Artech is one of Ottawa's oldest video game companies. A relative industry veteran, the firm is moving into new territory by producing games on tablets, such as the iPad.
"Tablets are the big up-and-coming thing," says Mr. Santamaria, adding Artech is still several months away from seeing a title for the devices.
The approach was a little different for RocketOwl, which is one of the city's newest entrants, says CEO Graeme Barlow. The company was formed this past fall and spent its first few months raising capital before beginning to develop GreenSpace, which encourages players to compete against their friends in multiple mini-games online.
A second team for the studio is finishing up a social puzzle game called Perplexus. Mr. Barlow says the company could have up to five titles by the end of the year.
Unlike many studios, he adds, RocketOwl plans to produce all its own content and avoid doing contract work for other publishers.
"We really wanted to do it our own way first."
– By Scott McNeil
