Canada is one of the world’s big game-making countries, but it doesn’t have a major consumer show of its own: no equivalent of PAX in the U.S., Gamescom in Europe or the Tokyo Game Show. Toronto’s Fan Expo has little gaming, and Edmonton’s Game Con Canada leans toward tabletop. VGLX wants to fill that gap, MobileSyrup reports.
Founder Jason Lepine, CEO of XP Gaming and a veteran of the Montreal International Game Summit and the pre-pandemic EGLX, describes it as a “theme park for gamers.” Year two runs October 24–25 at the International Centre in Mississauga, with tickets from $20:
- playable indie and big-budget games
- an indie zone with about 40 games, plus partners including Torn Banner and Behaviour Interactive’s Misbehaviour label
- an esports tournament and reveals from OverActive Media
Lepine is aiming for mid-size shows of 5,000 to 50,000 people rather than mega-conventions, and he wants to move to a bigger venue next year. He’s blunt about the gap: Canadian conventions were never “focused on video games in the way that I wanted them to be.”
Why it matters: Consumer shows are where fans meet the people who make games, and where studios find their audience. If Canada’s industry wants a public face, and publishers want a stop here on their tours, a show like VGLX has to work.
