Business in Vancouver annual list of the Biggest video game developers in BC was publsihed today and the usual suspects are near the top.
Rankings are based on the number of staff working in British Columbia in 2009. Data was collected via interviews conducting by BIV with the firms that responded to requests for information as well as internal BIV research.
So how do these numbers compare to the previous year. Here are the most obvious changes year-over-year:
If you want to learn more, buy yourself a copy of this week's issue or find a friend with a BIV subscription and an online access code.
Bring together compelling, interactive storytelling and award-winning 3-D Real-Time Strategy (RTS) game-play and you'll understand why Relic... [more]
Want to be part of the Next Generation of games development? EA is the leading developer for next gen games and looking for passionate gamers who... [more]
Radical Entertainment is a video game developer located in Vancouver, British Columbia. We create and develop games for all current and next... [more]
It all started on July 4th, 2005 when 11 of us opened Blue Castle Games in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. We were in a 5,700 square foot... [more]
Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, United Front Games was formed in 2007 by former employees of Electronic Arts, Radical Entertainment, Black... [more]
Unfortunately the list is no longer accurate as companies like Threewave, Big Sandwich and Blue Castle have either laid off most of their staff or gone under.
Hi Dave - thanks for the comment back. Any rumors of our demise have been greatly exaggerated and in fact, we are in the process of hiring now.
Also, the employee count of 165 is accurate on this list. Should you have any questions, feel free to contact me directly.
Great list and it's the usually suspects indeed. I run, www.GameIndex.ca, which is a great resource for gaming companies across Canada. Toronto is starting to come into our own now and step it up.
DFE has 0 people
DFE had promise but when the COO got nuts and backstabbed an owner they fell apart...hasnt had business since 07
As a media source the reporter should have done proper due diligence on this as opposed to just reading false information of the companies web sites.
It does not count the lay-offs (permanent or temporary). For instance Deep Fried had 30 people for a brief instant in 2008 but have had 0 paid employees and only 2 or 3 people working for free since.
Now, they will get attention because of this article due to false information...And lo welcome to the horrific state of our once great industry...Stop the lies...do your research before you report!
...Another particlarly annoying clarifier to my previous comment is that of all the companies listed, Deep Fried actually had the audacity to include a link to this article. This obviously means they intend to leverage false information to make them look like a better company...just sad.
I am a recruiter in Vancouver and have a very senior candidate that is coming back home from LA after working on a contract for a few years. He has worked at EA for several years as a Development Director/Senior project manager and then Director of WW Quality Assurance. From there he worked for Vivendi games as a Senior Director and most recently as a Senior producer /director. His core competencies are software development, PM, and business unit management. If you happen to know of any companies that may be looking for someone with his talent I would like to connect with them.
Rob Lewis
Rob is the President of Techvibes Media and Editor in Chief of Techvibes.com.
His diverse background includes stints with International Trade Finance, Web Development, and Enterprise Software and he is a graduate of the University of British Columbia, British Columbia Institute of Technology, and Simon Fraser University.
