After NAGIS: Building Momentum for Edmonton Video Game Studios

The inaugural North American Game Industry Summit (NAGIS) and Game Con Canada (GCC) opened new opportunities for Edmonton’s video game studios. The real impact will come from the conversations, partnerships, and growth that follow.

When an industry event wraps up, the visible activity comes to an end. The booths are packed away, meetings are over, and attendees head home. But for video game studios, that is often where the most valuable work begins.

Following NAGIS and Game Con Canada in June, conversations that started on the show floor are moving into the next phase: building relationships, exploring opportunities, and creating connections that can shape the future of Edmonton’s video game industry.

“A lot of what happens after the event is unknown to people,” says Ronnie Villanueva, Digital Media and Technology Specialist at Edmonton Screen. “The event itself is one thing. What happens in the six to 18 months after is where the real work is.”

For Edmonton’s growing video game community, those months are where connections develop into opportunities and studios continue building toward their next milestone.

Early Conversations Are Continuing

Just over a month after NAGIS and GCC, early signs show those conversations are moving forward.

According to post-event reporting, NAGIS facilitated 488 meetings through MeetToMatch, the same B2B matchmaking platform used during Gamescom, connecting 225 companies from 12 countries. Roughly one-third of surveyed participants expect those conversations to lead to business opportunities.

Several Edmonton video game studios have also entered early conversations with publishers, although those conversations remain confidential.

“There are more conversations and relationships building beyond those first few,” Ronnie says. “To see this level of movement this early is a huge deal for a first-year event.”

The impact extended beyond meetings. The Steam showcase generated more than 2.6 million impressions across more than 80 titles, while publisher pitch sessions and industry recognition provided additional opportunities for Edmonton studios to showcase their work and connect with potential partners.

Building Beyond the Event

Explore Edmonton has committed to hosting NAGIS in the city through 2031, giving studios a fixed, recurring touchpoint to plan around rather than a one-time opportunity. That timeline matters for an industry where games can take years to develop: studios can build multi-year strategies around a summit they know will return, rather than treating each year as a standalone event.

This August, through Edmonton Screen’s Summit Push Program, five studios will continue building on the connections they started in Edmonton when they travel to Gamescom in Germany, one of the world’s largest video game industry events.

“It gives studios a reminder of what Gamescom will be like at a much larger scale,” Ronnie says.

For many teams, NAGIS and Game Con Canada provided an opportunity to refine their pitches, test their demos, and experience the pace of a major industry event before stepping onto a global stage.

Why Timing Matters

One of the biggest takeaways from publisher conversations at NAGIS was the importance of timing.

Studios looking for a publishing partner need to start those conversations well before launch. These relationships often begin 12 to 18 months before a video game ships, giving publishers time to support areas like marketing strategy, localization, and launch planning.

Finding the right partnership is not just about securing funding. It is about building a relationship that supports the studio, the game, and the audience it hopes to reach.

That preparation reflects how video games are built. Studios develop their projects over time, returning to each milestone with new learnings, stronger connections, and a clearer understanding of where opportunities exist.

The long-term impact of NAGIS and Game Con Canada will extend far beyond one weekend in June. It will be shaped by the studios that continue building, the partnerships that develop, and the opportunities created for Edmonton’s video game community.

The event may be over, but Edmonton’s video game industry continues to move forward.