Alberta video game developers say industry is being left behind in province

Alberta game developers warned that the province was becoming less competitive with other Canadian game-development centres after the cancellation of the Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit in 2019. While provinces including Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia offered targeted incentives for game production, Alberta entered the 2022 budget without an equivalent program. Edmonton-based Beamdog and Inflexion Games were among the local studios arguing that incentives affect decisions about investment, hiring and where companies establish or expand development teams. The issue was particularly important as Alberta sought to diversify its economy and retain technology workers while its game industry employed roughly 1,300 people. The contrast with Alberta’s expanding film and television incentives also highlighted the absence of comparable provincial support for interactive media, despite the presence of established studios and experienced game-development talent in Edmonton and Calgary.