This year’s Summer Game Fest (SGF) was a bit of a strange one.
On the one hand, there were plenty of exciting games on display, but on the other, it undoubtedly felt like a quieter year overall. There are many reasons why that could be. Perhaps it’s because the industry is still struggling with a string of layoffs due to myopic business decisions. Maybe companies were hoping for both the Nintendo Switch 2 and Grand Theft Auto VI (prior to the latter’s recent delay) to raise the tides. It’s also very possible that development cycles just didn’t line up this year.
I especially noticed this feeling of SGF 2025 being a bit “off” when it came to Canadian games. Last year, there were so many promising Canadian AAA and indie titles that it was hard to keep track of beyond the obvious giants like Gears of War E-Day from Vancouver’s The Coalition, Assassin’s Creed Shadows from Ubisoft Quebec and Dragon Age: The Veilguard from BioWare Edmonton. If a global powerhouse like Canada didn’t even have a huge showing, what does that mean for the rest of the industry?
With all of that said, though, I found that the dearth of so-called “bigger” games only paved the way for the smaller — and, arguably, more intriguing — indies to get more attention. Indeed, of the dozens of games I saw at SGF and its adjacent events, there were many standouts from Canada, especially from smaller teams.
From new entries in fan-favourite comic book franchises to astonishing new IPs from acclaimed game makers, there was a lot to like from Canadian developers at SGF. Here are the highlights.
All Systems Dance
Image credit: Mighty Yell
Platform: PC
Release date: August 20, 2025 (early access)
The Big Con was one of 2021’s biggest indie delights, and the next game from Toronto’s Mighty Yell, All Systems Dance, looks to retain that colourful charm in a completely different experience. In a corporate dystopia, the only way to rebel is through dancing, giving the game a novel “non-violent” approach to combat. Instead of fighting robots, you defeat them through smooth rhythm-based moves, which, along with the Jet Set Radio-esque funky soundtrack and striking aesthetic, gives All Systems Dance a wholly unique style and feel. The revolution will not be choreographed, indeed.
(If that weren’t enough, Mighty Yell and fellow Toronto developer 13AM Games are also about to release Atari’s Missile Command Delta on July 8.)
Ambrosia Sky
Image credit: Soft Rains
Platform: PC
Release date: TBA 2026
What do you get when veterans from the likes of Bethesda, Riot and Ubisoft form a new Canadian indie studio? We get something as wholly unique as Toronto-based Soft Rains‘ Ambrosia Sky, which is a mix of the cleaning gameplay of Ambrosia Sky and the thoughtful and emotional “death positive” storytelling of Spiritfarer. As a deep-space disaster specialist, your job is to use a high-tech elemental sprayer to clear mysterious alien fungus and lay different colonists to rest. It’s unlike anything we saw at SGF, and it looks incredibly promising.
For more on Ambrosia Sky, check out our preview featuring insight from Soft Rains.
At Fate’s End
Image credit: Thunder Lotus
Platform: PC
Release date: TBA 2026
The latest game from Montreal-based Thunder Lotus aims to take the moving storytelling of Spiritfarer and weave it into an action game experience. As the young heiress Shan, you must fight with your estranged siblings in a deadly ritual of succession. But in between the real-time combat will be a Tarot-inspired card system that injects choice-driven dialogue options and sympathetic writing into each encounter to create raw and human conflicts between the siblings. If this is even half as affecting as Spiritfarer then we’re in for a real treat.
Blighted
Image credit: Drinkbox Studios
Platform: PC
Release date: TBA 2026
Beloved Toronto-based Drinkbox is back with an action-RPG that marks its first-ever 3D game. In many ways, Blighted looks to be a smart mixture of the studio’s past works: the action-RPG elements of Nobody Saves the World!, Metroidvania bits of Guacamelee! and darker tone and aesthetic of Severed. Throw in an intriguing story about cultural preservation and a novel approach to difficulty and this should be another Drinkbox hit.
For more on Blighted, check out our preview with insight from Drinkbox.
Gears of War: Reloaded
Image credit: Xbox
Platform: Xbox Series X/S, PC (plus Xbox Game Pass), PS5
Release date: August 26, 2025
While news that Vancouver’s The Coalition is making a second remaster of Epic Games’ original Gears of War wouldn’t normally be all that noteworthy, Gears of War: Reloaded has the distinction of being the iconic third-person shooter series’ debut on PlayStation. That’s right: arguably Xbox’s biggest series outside of Halo is going to be on a rival Sony console as part of Microsoft’s ever-growing multiplatform plans. Notably, Reloaded brings up to 4K/120fps support to Gears‘ full suite of campaign and multiplayer modes with cross-play and cross-progression support (the latter of which requires a Microsoft account).
A multiplayer beta is also taking place between June 13 and 15 and June 20 and 22, and anyone who’s pre-ordered the game or is a Game Pass member can take part. (Those who had purchased the Gears of War: Ultimate Edition remaster prior to May 5 will have also received a free code for Reloaded via Xbox DMs.)
Grounded 2
Image credit: Xbox
Platform: Xbox Series X/S, PC (plus Xbox Game Pass)
Release date: July 29, 2025 (early access)
While the sequel to Xbox’s highly popular survival action-adventure game Grounded is once again being primarily made by California’s incredibly prolific Obsidian Entertainment, Canada’s Eidos Montreal (Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy) is assisting with development. That extra help will no doubt be needed as Grounded 2 promises to have a much larger world than the first game that features mountable insects, new gadgets and customizable items and a deeper narrative, among other improvements.
For more on Grounded 2, check out our preview featuring insight from Obsidian.
Marvel Cosmic Invasion
Image credit: Dotemu
Platform: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch) PC (Steam)
Release date: Holiday 2025
The developers at Montreal’s Tribute Games are behind two of the best beat ’em up games of all time: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, so it’s beyond exciting that they’re turning their talents to Marvel. In Marvel Cosmic Invasion, you must save the universe from the evil Annihilus as you travel from recognizable locations like New York City and the Negative Zone. Notably, the game features a sizeable roster of 15 different Marvel heroes ranging from heavy hitters like Spider-Man, Wolverine and Captain America to deeper cuts like Nova, Phyla-Vell and Quasar. At SGF, we also learned that She-Hulk and Rocket Raccoon are coming to the game, further illustrating just how eclectic this cast will end up being.
For more on Marvel Cosmic Invasion, check out our full hands-on preview from SGF featuring insight from Tribute Games.
Pathfinder: Abomination Vaults
Image credit: Megabit
Platform: PC
Release date: TBA
From Quebec City’s BKOM Studios comes this first-ever hack-and-slash dungeon crawler set in the world of Pathfinder. Lead and customize iconic Pathfinder heroes as you venture into the depths of Gauntlight Keep and battle deadly abominations on your quest to stop the evil sorceress Belcorra. Whether you take on this dangerous world solo or in co-op, you’ll be encouraged to create combos with your different characters, like special flame vortexes or poisoning scimitar slashes.
Petal Runner
Image credit: iam8bit
Platform: PC
Release date: TBA 2025
A chance social media encounter between Calgarian pixel artist Brandon James Greer and Vancouverite programmer Danny Guo led to the formation of Canadian indie dev studio Nano Park Studios. It’s a humble origin story, and it’s resulted in a similarly warm-hearted coming-of-age slice-of-life experience in Petal Runner. Mixing gorgeous Game Boy Color-inspired pixel art with a charming Tamagotchi-esque digital monster collecting system, Petal Runner looks to be a lovingly nostalgic and cozy adventure.
For more on Petal Runner, check out our interview with Nano Park.
Scott Pilgrim Ex
Image credit: Tribute Games
Platform: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC
Release date: TBA 2026
It’s so rare for Canada to get to play itself in anything, which is no doubt why Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim series has remained so beloved. Much to our surprise at SGF, then, when we learned that a successor to the fan-favourite Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game beat ’em up is coming from Montreal’s Tribute Games, a team that includes people who worked on that original Ubisoft title. That pedigree alone speaks for itself, but the promise of a new futuristic Toronto story with Scott and Ramona, overseen by O’Malley himself, only makes Scott Pilgrim Ex all the more tantalizing.
Those are some of the more prominent games, but we’d be remiss not to mention that in this era of remote work, many projects have teams scattered around the world, including in Canada. With that in mind, we’ve rounded up some other titles from SGF that are confirmed to have at least some members of the development team in Canada:
Ill — a first-person survival horror game from Team Clout, a new studio with founders in Armenia and Canada
Wu-Tang: Rise of the Deceiver — a co-op action-RPG based on the iconic titular hip-hop group from Brass Lion Entertainment (has developers in Montreal and other parts of Canada)
There are also some indie games that have been making the global showcase rounds and were once again featured at various events in LA, like the MIX (Media Indie Exchange):
Ctrl Alt Deal — a turn-based strategy puzzle game from Edmonton’s Only by Midnight
Robots at Midnight — a Soulslike action-RPG from Toronto’s Finish Line Games
It should be noted that there were over a dozen showcases throughout the week, spanning many hours and including hundreds of games altogether. Therefore, it’s likely we missed some Canadian games and, as a result, this isn’t intended to be a comprehensive list.
In any case, what are your favourite Canadian games that you saw at SGF, either from this list or elsewhere? Let us know in the comments.
Image credit: Thunder Lotus/Tribute/iam8bit
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