Vancouver game design industry is booming

Vancouver is home to one of the oldest video game clusters in North America. The video game design scene started in a suburban living room more than four decades ago. In 1982, Don Mattrick and his friend Jeff Sember launched what would eventually become Electronic Arts (EA), a global leader in digital interactive entertainment.

From the humble beginning, today EA has an estimated 1,300 employees on sprawling 450,000-square-foot campus. The company has more than 300 million registered players around the world. EA might be the cornerstone of Vancouver’s game design industry but is now one among many. The list of companies that call Vancouver home includes Relic Entertainment, A Thinking Ape, SkyBox Labs, Kabam and more.

Being situated in the heart of Western Canada’s ever-increasing video game hub gives LaSalle College Vancouver’s game design students a clear advantage when it comes to learning game design and gaining valuable industry connections.

Behind Japan and the U.S., Canada is the third largest developer of video games. British Columbia is home to the world’s largest digital entertainment hub, with over 150 video game development studios. Since 2015, the number of companies has grown by 19% and full-time jobs have increased by 7%.

The Vancouver Economic Commission predicts the video game industry will generate $4 billion this year, Global News reported. To meet the demand for this thriving industry, game design companies in British Columbia are always looking for the next generation of talented game designers.

And those skilled game designers are well paid. According to the job website Neuvoo, the average Game Designer salary in Canada is $75,750 per year or $38.85 per hour. Entry-level positions start at $39,000 per year, while experienced designers can make up to $105,000 per year.