By Jon Scarr
Canada's video game industry includes major studios in Montréal, Vancouver and Toronto, along with hundreds of smaller developers across the country. With ongoing discussions about jobs, investment and a possible National Video Game Strategy, there's a basic question we should be able to answer. Just how big is Canada's video game industry?
That turns out to be a harder question than you might expect. Statistics Canada counted 1,628 video game firms in 2022, while the Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC) reported 821 active video game companies in its 2023–24 study. That's a big difference, but it doesn't mean hundreds of Canadian studios disappeared.
Statistics Canada's count comes from business and tax records. For ESAC's study, research firm Nordicity identified active video game companies through company research and industry associations. It then used surveys and modelling to estimate employment and economic activity. The reporting periods differ, too. Understanding the industry's size starts with knowing what each number actually measures.
| Research | Period | Companies | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statistics Canada | 2022 | 1,628 | 59,689 ILUs |
| ESAC / Nordicity | 2023–24 | 821 | 34,010 FTEs |
| CIAIC / Nordicity | 2023–24 | 937 | 37,850 FTEs |
Statistics Canada's figures cover the Canadian provinces and exclude the territories. The Canadian Interactive Alliance (CIAIC) figures include the broader interactive digital media industry. Individual labour units (ILUs) and full-time equivalents (FTEs) are different employment measures.
Different Methods Produce Different Company Counts
Statistics Canada's research covers video game developers and publishers identified through specific industry classifications. Its information comes from administrative records, including corporate tax filings, employment records and tax remittances.
A company can appear in that data if it meets the study's reporting requirements, even if it has very little public presence. The research includes mostly incorporated businesses, along with some self-employed individuals.
Many of those firms are small. In 2022, Statistics Canada identified 1,261 video game firms with fewer than five employees out of its total of 1,628.
Nordicity approached the industry differently. For its 2024 ESAC research, it worked with industry associations to identify Canadian video game companies and gathered information through surveys and secondary research.
The study identified 821 active video game companies. Nordicity used detailed financial data from 150 surveyed companies, then applied company-size modelling to estimate employment and economic activity across the industry.
The difference between these approaches is especially important for smaller studios. A developer who files taxes but has little online visibility may be captured by administrative records without being identified through an industry survey.
Statistics Canada acknowledges this distinction in its 2025 research. It identifies businesses with fewer than five employees as a major reason its company counts are higher than those in ESAC's earlier studies.
Newer Statistics Canada data provides another example of how industry counts can differ. Its June 2026 Business Counts identify 864 video game development and publishing locations with payroll employees, plus another 2,050 without payroll employees across Canada. That's 2,914 business locations, not necessarily 2,914 individual companies or studios. The figures use a different counting method from both studies in our comparison.
Statistics Canada's approach captures businesses through administrative records, while Nordicity identifies active game companies through industry research. Both provide useful information, but they're measuring different populations.
Video Game Jobs, Revenue and GDP Are Counted Differently
The employment figures raise a similar problem. Statistics Canada reported 59,689 individual labour units in video game firms for 2022. Nordicity estimated 34,010 direct full-time-equivalent jobs in Canada's video game industry for 2023–24.
Those numbers might look like a major employment decline, but they measure different things.
Statistics Canada calculates individual labour units using T4 employment records. A person who receives one T4 is assigned one labour unit. If that person works for multiple employers, the unit is divided between those employers.
Full-time equivalents measure employment based on the amount of work performed. For example, three part-time workers who each work one-third of a full year would collectively represent one full-time-equivalent job.
The reporting periods and company populations also differ, so we can't treat the gap as an employment decline.
The financial figures need some explanation, too. Statistics Canada reported approximately $7.07 billion in revenue for Canadian video game firms in 2022. Nordicity estimated approximately $5.1 billion in industry revenue for 2023–24.
Nordicity also estimated approximately $5.1 billion in total gross domestic product (GDP) contribution.
Those two $5.1 billion figures describe different economic measurements. Revenue measures income generated by companies. GDP measures economic value added through production and related activity.
Nordicity estimated that Canadian video game companies contributed approximately $3.9 billion directly to GDP. Another $1.2 billion came from indirect and induced economic activity, including supplier businesses and spending supported by industry employment.
The report also found that approximately 45% of industry revenue came from intercompany transfers. That means a substantial portion of the revenue figure reflects financial activity between related businesses rather than direct consumer game purchases.
All of these measurements provide useful information. They simply can't be treated as interchangeable.
Revised Estimates and Broader Industry Definitions
Different research organizations aren't the only reason Canada's video game industry figures vary. Sometimes the numbers change when researchers update their own methodology.
ESAC's original 2021 industry study identified 937 active video game companies in Canada.
When Nordicity prepared its 2024 report, it introduced more detailed company-size categories to improve its estimates. It also applied the revised methodology to its earlier 2021 data so the two periods could be compared more consistently.
Nordicity's 2024 report uses a revised 2021 figure of 899 companies, compared with the 937 originally reported.
The economic figures changed, too. The original estimate of $5.5 billion in total GDP contribution for 2021 was revised to approximately $4.96 billion.
These revisions don't describe an economic decline between two different years. They reflect changes to estimates for the same historical period.
Using its revised methodology, Nordicity then estimated 821 active video game companies in 2023–24. That represents a 9% decline from its revised 2021 estimate of 899 companies.
The Broader Interactive Digital Media Count
Another example comes from research commissioned by the Canadian Interactive Alliance. Its 2023–24 study identified 937 active interactive digital media companies in Canada, with an estimated 37,850 full-time-equivalent jobs.
That research covers a wider industry than video games alone. It also includes interactive storytelling, immersive experiences and interactive educational content.
Video games account for 88% of the companies identified in the broader study. Both projects involved Nordicity and drew on related industry research, but their populations aren't identical.
Understanding Canada's Video Game Industry Numbers
Canada has a substantial video game industry, with hundreds of companies, tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity. The research from Statistics Canada and Nordicity provides different ways to understand its scale.
Statistics Canada's administrative data is particularly useful for examining how firms, revenue and employment changed across its 2013–2022 study period. Nordicity's industry research provides a more detailed look at active studios, their workforce and their economic contributions.
Both have limitations, and neither should be treated as a single definitive measurement of every aspect of Canadian game development.
So when you see different numbers describing Canada's video game industry, check what each one measures before comparing them. A company count from tax records isn't the same as an estimate of active studios, just as revenue isn't the same as GDP. Those differences are important when we're talking about the industry's future.
Jon Scarr
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