Interactive Ontario

Last week, Interactive Ontario brought MP Fares Al Soud to visit Big Blue Bubble, the London-based studio behind the global hit My Singing Monsters.

The scale of what they've built on the mobile game stage is staggering: 180 million downloads, #1 rankings in 15 countries, top 10 in 100 countries, and over 3 million reviews averaging 4.8 stars. Their fanbase is just as impressive, with 5 million followers, 1 billion social media views, and 10,000 fan creators keeping the community alive.

Thank you to MP Fares Al Soud for joining us, Big Blue Bubble and CEO Claudette Critchley for hosting, Canada Media Fund Board of Directors Chair Michael Schmalz and our friends at ESAC for a memorable visit!

This is what Ontario's video game industry looks like on the world stage, and we're proud to call Big Blue Bubble one of our own

Last week, Interactive Ontario attended TennoCon 2026 in London, celebrating Digital Extremes' (DE) incredible run with WARFRAME frame and its upcoming title, Soulframe.

It was our honour to host MP Fares Al Soud for a tour of DE's headquarters and Tennocon joined by our friends at Entertainment Software Association of Canada. Thank you to DE President Sheldon Carter, Lesley Milner, and the DE team for showing us behind the curtain.

Warframe is closing in on 15 years and 90 million registered players. More than 4,000 fans packed the venue on Saturday, with hundreds of thousands more watching online, as DE unveiled Warframe's new Tau expansion and offered another look at Soulframe.

Tennocon will return in 2027, taking place July 15-16th.
A true Ontario success story, built on nearly a decade and a half of staying close to its community.

Learn all about getting your game in front of your target audience with next week’s Indie Superboost focused on video game showcases.

With 30+ years across consumer tech and gaming, Elizabeth Olson, Head of Strategy & Media at Indie Angels Marketing Services , brings insight you won't find anywhere else.

If you haven't registered yet, now's the time. Lock in your spot before it's too late.
https://bit.ly/3T4FZwg

What a week at VRTO 2026, Canada's longest-running XR conference!

It was an honour to connect with so many passionate creators, developers, and visionaries pushing the boundaries of what's possible in spatial media at VRTO 2026. And this year, VRTO - Virtual Reality, Toronto also offered a full day dedicated to AI in the creative sectors.

We were thrilled to bring three of our members to showcase their innovative work: XRPANDA, OK_XR Studio, Full Circle CS
And some of them also took the stage:
- Founder of VRTO: 🥽 Keram Malicki-Sanchez (SwanPunching Games)
- Evan Jones (Games by Stitch)
- J. Lee Williams (Invalid Symbol)
- Ni**od Shanit (Blimey)
- Andrew MacDonald (Cream Productions)

Thank you to Keram Malicki-Sanchez and their team for putting together this informative and inspiring event at OCAD University, and to Arthur Yeung and Invalid Symbol for programming the AI day at VRTO.

Your game deserves to be discovered.🎮✨

We're sharing an incredible opportunity for our dev community: an in-person Apple seminar on getting your game live and thriving on the App Store.

You'll walk away with:
- An overview of Apple's unified tools and architecture
- Strategies for reaching millions of players via the App Store and Apple Games app
- Best practices for business models and on-store discovery
- A look at what Apple editors consider when featuring games

📆Monday, July 6 | 9AM–12PM EDT
📍Apple Toronto

Spots are limited. Register here: https://bit.ly/4448Web

You've put in the work. Now you need the right people to notice it.🚀
For the July edition of Indie Superboost (ISB), Elizabeth Olson, Head of Strategy & Media, Indie Angels Marketing Services, will be joining us to discuss how to leverage in-person & online video game showcase opportunities for indies.

Elizabeth has spent more than 30 years working in Strategic Marketing, Brand Management, PR, Business Development & Thought Leadership throughout the consumer technology and game industries.

Whether you're a Show Case veteran or looking to get started, you won't want to miss the knowledge and expertise she has to share.

Get your tickets here: https://bit.ly/3T4FZwg

That's a wrap on Toronto Games Week!🎮

From the game demos to the breathtaking aerial silk performer, the energy in the room was pure magic. Thank you to Toronto Games Week and all who contributed to such an amazing week and closing party (list below). We can't wait to see what you have in store for next year. Thank you as well to everyone who came out, from devs to indie fans, you made this night unforgettable. This was such a fun way to kick off celebrating IO's 25th year and we're refreshing our feeds waiting to see your photo booth moments - tag us!

Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to stay in the loop on IO anniversary celebrations, demo opportunities, community events, and more. www.interactiveontario.com

leaders, contributors and partners:
- Jim Munroe and Marie LeBlanc Flanagan, 50+ events organizers and 100+ volunteers
- Toronto Independent Game Development Jam (TOJam), Dirty Rectangles, Dream Game, HyperGame StoryTime and Demo Room
- City of Toronto, Ontario Creates, Toronto Public Library, CrowdParty, CWA Canada / CODE-CANADA, Drinkbox Studios, Ravine Studios, Sago Mini, Unity, Unreal Engine Education / Epic Games and York University

Today’s the day🎉- Get your ticket before it’s too late!
Close out Toronto Games Week 2026 with the official Closing Party.
IO is proud to partner with Toronto Games Week to celebrate this amazing community and our 25th anniversary. Be sure to check out the IO photo booth and grab a pic with your friends!

🕗When: TONIGHT! 8PM-Midnight
📍Where: Demo Room
🎟️Cost: IO Members $15
Non-Member prices vary
Tickets: https://luma.com/ccsakubc

Don't miss this opportunity to connect with developers, creators, and interactive entertainment fans from Toronto and beyond. You'll also have the chance to play Super Time Force by Capybara Games, Marco Polo by Overnight Games, and many more thanks to our friends at TOJam.

See you there!

If one succeeds, we all succeed." Those words, from Antonio Miceli, set the tone for The G.R.I.D. perfectly, and this event delivered on every level.

We were proud to return as a partner for the second iteration, and Ontario devs showed up in full force: a wide variety of exciting projects, critical feedback from dozens of knowledgeable play testers, and a prestigious group of industry judges bringing their expertise to every selection. The night was a showcase of exactly what the indie game dev community is capable of when we invest in each other.

Huge congratulations to all winners including: Marco Polo (Industry Choice) and Jolly Roll (People's Choice).

And a special shoutout to Igor Sololov for taking home the $250 gift card provided by Interactive Ontario as part of our 25th anniversary celebration. All winners also received two tickets to the Toronto Games Week Closing Party on Wednesday, June 17.

Thank you to Antonio Miceli and the team at Mega Power Games. Your vision of building a space where developers get real feedback and real recognition has truly come to life. And a final thank you to the judges, participating studios, volunteers, and play testers who made the night so memorable. You all brought your A-game.

Last week, we had the honour of joining the team and friends from across the industry at TIFF Lightbox to celebrate the launch of Echo Generation 2.

Cococucumber is a longtime member of Interactive Ontario and one of Ontario's most beloved indie studios, and this launch is a testament to the incredible work they continue to put out. Seeing the community rally around them made for a truly special evening.

Echo Generation 2 is out now on Steam, XBOX, and XBOX Game Pass.

Congratulations to Vanessa, Martin, and the whole Cococucumber team for this impressive achievement!