Mississauga, Ontario-based esports company Northern Arena has announced that it will hold the 1st Annual Canadian Game Awards on Thursday, April 9th, 2020 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto.
As the name suggests, the awards show will honour achievements in the Canadian game industry across console, mobile and VR.
Developer categories include ‘Best Game Design,’ ‘Best Art Direction,’ ‘Best Narrative,’ ‘Best Performance,’ ‘Best Sound.’ In the esports space, hosts, organizations and events will be recognized, with two categories also set aside for best ‘Content Creator/Show’ and ”Streamer.’
A selection committee will be put together to determine nominees, although it’s currently unclear just who will make up this panel. Northern Arena will also announce nominees for all categories at a later date. Some of the most notable Canadian-made games from 2019 include Xbox’s Gears 5 (developed by Vancouver’s The Coalition), Nintendo’s Luigi’s Mansion 3 (developed by Vancouver’s Next Level Games) and Activision’s Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled (a remake handled by Quebec City’s Beenox).
It’s Coming!
Be part of history and don’t miss out on the 1st Annual Canadian Game Awards. A unique evening to celebrate and recognize the elite in the Canadian Gaming Industry.
For more information, visit: https://t.co/EytgNc0bbc pic.twitter.com/AC18d8YM0H
— Xbox Canada (@XboxCanada) February 12, 2020
Finally, fans will get to vote on their favourite game made in Canada, as well as one title that was developed internationally. Details on the fan voting process have yet to be revealed.
Northern Arena says the event will be broadcast through Super Channel’s GINX TV Canada on Amazon Prime. Meanwhile, the behind-the-scenes show will be broadcast on Squad’s online channels (Twitch, YouTube, Facebook and Mixer).
It’s worth noting that B.C.-based Reboot Communications initially produced the ‘Canadian Video Game Awards,’ with the show then being taken over by the same production company behind the new Canadian Game Awards. The last Canadian Video Game Awards was held back in 2016, with the 2017 event set to take place in Ottawa being cancelled.
The Canadian Game Awards, however, appears to be its own separate entity. Regardless of past efforts, though, a Canadian-focused game awards show makes sense given that Canada is the third-largest producer of games in the world.
With files from Patrick O’Rourke.
Source: Canadian Game Awards
