In an effort to help kids cope with stress, Shaftesbury Technology has launched Bubble Bloom, a free tablet game targeted towards ages six to 15.

The app, which transforms the user’s environment into a virtual underwater habitat with calming music to help reduce anxiety and create an engaged state of attention, was introduced alongside a roundtable discussion held by the Ontario Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries Minister Lisa MacLeod today (June 23).

Designed for at-home use or a clinical setting, Bubble Bloom is currently available for iPads and iPhones and is coming soon to Google Play. Made with the assistance of Mohawk and Centennial College, the game was developed with the support of Ryerson University, the Ontario Centres of Excellence, the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program.

Bubble Bloom is also the first of six positive distraction games the Hudson & Rex producer’s tech division has planned. A spokesperson for Shaftesbury told Playback Daily that the other games are set to be released this fall and that Bubble Bloom‘s release was moved up to make the game available during the pandemic.

“COVID-19 has affected us all, and the lives of children have been uniquely altered,” said Shaftesbury chairman and CEO Christina Jennings in a statement. “We hope Bubble Bloom‘s stimulating play environment will not only give children something fun to engage with but will also help provide some comfort and distraction during these times.”

Last year, as part of a separate announcement, Shaftesbury announced that the Scarborough Health Network (SHN) and the Bloorview Research Institute were both using its augmented and virtual reality technology. SHN used the tech for a clinical trial focused on Positive Distraction Therapy for children undergoing surgery and other medical procedures, while Holland Bloorview was conducting a research study on the usability and safety of VR tech for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).