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CMF invests $14.1M across 22 digital media projects

By Jordan Pinto
July 10, 2015
Secret Location and Montreal's Spearhead Games were among the companies that received production support for their projects in the latest round of funding.

A total of $14.1 million of production support funding has been distributed across 22 projects by the Canada Media Fund (CMF) via its experimental stream program.

The funding awarded by the stream supports the creation of a market-ready version of the selected projects, as well as preliminary marketing and commercialization activities. Quebec produced the most winning projects with 13, followed by Ontario (five), British Columbia (two), and Manitoba (one) and Newfoundland & Labrador (one).

Two projects walked away with $1.2 million apiece, the maximum contribution made to any one project in this round of funding. Secret Location received $1.2 million in funding for its 9-part virtual reality experience, based on Stephen King’s novel Insomnia. The VR experience will be supported by the Milk VR and Oculus Share apps which can be accessed via smartphones with a head-mounted display of their choice, such as Google Cardboard.

Role playing game (RPG) Legends from Quebec’s Spearhead Games also received $1.2 million in financing from the CMF. The PC and console game takes every action of a player into account, including interactions with other characters in the world, to determine the ultimate outcome of the story.

Manitoba-based Evodant Interactive picked up $1.16 million for RPG Gyre. The steampunk-themed sci-fi game casts the user as a fully customizable android that can explore the game world and also enter into 1-on-1 or multiplayer online battles. Receiving just under $1 million in funding was Nine Dots Studio’s open-world RPG Outward. The game is set for release simultaneously on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

Elsewhere, Erudite Science received $600,000 for Sphinx, a PC toolbox for educational game development. Debris from Moonray Studios, a survival horror game for iOS, PC and Android, also picked up $915,000. Of the 22 projects, there are 16 games, two apps, three websites and one virtual reality platform. A full list of all funded projects can be found here.

Since its inception in 2010, the Experimental Stream has supplied more than $129.7 million in funding. Earlier this year, the CMF announced a 2015-16 budget of $375.2 million for its Experimental Stream.