(GameConCanada.com)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19) and Alessia Proietti

western canada's biggest

Game Con Canada comes to Calgary June 23-25

Jun 4, 2023 | 1:49 PM

Perhaps you love the thrill of trying to survive in Fortnite or Call of Duty, or you’re an adventurer at heart and are keen to roam Hyrule as the legendary Link, or Pokémon’s nine core regions as Ash; perchance you’ve mastered classic board games such as Risk or Settlers of Catan, or let’s say you want to start a career in the industry…

No matter what aspect of gaming piques your interest, organizers believe you’ll find it at the upcoming first ever Game Con Canada in Calgary, June 23-25 at the 250,000 square foot BMO Centre.

Chris Meilleur with Alberta-based Meibel Consulting shares that organizers have been working on this event for two years, and are expecting several tens of thousands of visitors, over the three days, to what is the largest gaming expo in western Canada.

“We were sitting around during COVID, and we have a video game company of our own with which we’re trying to launch a game, and we honestly got tired of having to travel to San Franscisco, Seattle, Germany and Australia for these big gaming conventions,” says Meilleur.

“It occurred to us: why don’t we, seeing as we have an events company, see if we could pull something off here in Canada? We convinced big players like Telus, Rogers, Catalyst Game Labs and Warhammer that Canada is worth the trip and that the fans are worth the investment.”

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The convention will feature, among many other things, Canada’s largest cosplay competition, plus a 118-foot long Esports mega-stage with a 24 foot tall, 4K LED screen for consumers to play games on. The megs-stage will also feature post-secondary pro Esports teams competing in the game Valorant.

“You will walk through the legs of a 37-foot tall battle mech when you arrive,” says Meilleur.

“Charity is a big thing for us too, so we’re working with Child’s Play to outfit 140 child welfare facilities with gaming equipment. MSI has also stepped in to provide laptops for that initiative.”

There will also be a 4,000 square foot lazer tag arena based on Warhammer, a tabletop medieval war game.

The expo is expecting attendees from as far as away as the United Kingdom, and many from the U.S.

“The gaming industry is one of the largest in the world. The demographics are surprising too, with the biggest age group that is gaming being those between 25 and 42. We’re also working with Femme Gaming to promote that gender diversity message and create a safe space for females in gaming.”

According to Statista, 14.3 million Canadians will be video game users by 2027

Meilleur says Red Deer’s love for gaming is evident from the many comic book and gaming shops in town, many of which are supporting the expo, along with local restaurants.

“The gaming industry is so heavily tied into the movie industry, and we have Hollywood movie stars coming to this expo,” he says.

“This is a lot about drawing as much attention to our province as humanly possible, and it’s about getting some of these studios to commit to Alberta because we have an amazing fanbase. It ties into colleges, universities and now high schools. Gaming is one of those things that’s become a big economic driver.”

Statista data also suggests that revenue in the video games segment of the gaming industry is projected to hit U.S. $3.53 billion in 2023.

The expo is for all ages. Special guests will include Deborah Ann Woll (Daredevil, True Blood), Oded Fehr (The Mummy, Resident Evil), Clare Kramer (Bring It On, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), plus several others already announced, and unannounced.

To buy tickets or learn more, visit GameConCanada.com.