Montreal, March 3, 2023 – La Guilde du jeu vidéo du Québec announces that Montreal-based independent studio Squido has won the CAE Grand Prize of the Innovation Program, along with a $15,000 grant. The studio Sloe Burn Games from Varennes has won the Loto-Québec Coup de Coeur Prize worth $10,000. The prizes were awarded at a networking event held at the offices of OVHcloud, which also awarded a prize in cloud services to all finalists.
Squido stood out with an ambitious virtual reality project that combines entertainment, technology and social interaction in a very promising concept. Their first game, No More Rainbows, will be released in virtual reality in Q2 2023. Sloe Burn Games is a new studio working on its first game project.
Carried out in partnership with the CDRIN, CAE, Loto-Québec and Eidos-Montréal, La Guilde du jeu vidéo du Québec’s Innovation Program is an initiative that combines mentoring, coaching and financial support in order to encourage innovation in all its forms in independent video game studios, both in the production of their games and in their processes.
During the year, the five finalists, which this year also included Woodrunner Games, Carcajou Games and MadLife Entertainment, will be accompanied by a panel of experts from the academic and research communities, technology companies and related businesses. The Innovation Program is also presented in collaboration with Innoprofits Solutions, SYNTHÈSE, CEIM and OVHcloud.
Since 2021, 15 independent companies have been supported by a committee of experts and more than $85,000 in grants have been awarded to these companies that stand out for their innovative potential within the framework of the program.
“CAE is pleased to contribute to the linkages between the video game and aerospace industries by supporting La Guilde’s Innovation Program. Studio Squido stood out because of its bold project with commercial potential and as an innovation tool,” said Philippe Couillard, Vice President, Global Engineering, CAE.
“Loto-Québec is proud to participate in the innovation program and to award a grant to Sloe Burn Games. The studio won the jury’s favour thanks to the quality of its preparation, its initiative in finding innovative avenues outside the video game industry and its promising business model,” said Patrick Healey, Strategic Innovation Advisor, Office of the President and Business Strategy, Loto Quebec.
“The La Guilde Innovation Program encourages networking between the video game industry, the research sector and related industries and inspires innovation within our companies. Thank you to CDRIN, CAE, Loto-Québec, Eidos-Montréal and all our partners who support this vision,” said Jean Jacques Hermans, Executive Director of La Guilde du jeu vidéo du Québec.
“The CDRIN is proud to co-organize the Innovation Program with La Guilde. Thank you to the experts who gave their precious time to accompany the companies in their innovation process,” concluded Isabel Cayer, Executive Director, and Julien Coll, CDRIN Research and Innovation Advisor.
