The Entertainment Software Association of Canada is on a clock. Paul Fogolin, the trade group’s president and CEO, has told Console Creatures that “before 2026 ends, the organization, which represents and promotes the gaming industry across the country and internationally, will change its name to Video Games Canada.” That puts a hard deadline on a rebrand that has been building for months, and it reframes a decades-old lobbying group as a plainer, more consumer-facing name just as Canada’s game industry leans harder on Ottawa for policy wins.
The timing matters. ESAC’s own economic-impact study, conducted with Nordicity and released in January 2025, counted 821 active video game studios and 34,010 full-time-equivalent jobs contributing $5.1 billion to Canadian GDP in 2024. That is the backdrop against which the Video Games Canada rename is landing: a sector that has grown from a handful of regional studios into one of the country’s most export-heavy creative industries, now trying to sharpen its public identity to match.
What ESAC Does and Why the Name Is Changing
ESAC is the national trade body for companies that make, publish, and distribute video games in Canada. As Jayson Hilchie, then the association’s president, told a House of Commons committee in testimony recorded by OurCommons.ca, the group is “a national association representing companies in Canada that make, market, and distribute video games for video game consoles, hand-held and mobile devices, personal computers, and the Internet.” That mandate has not changed. What is changing is the label attached to it.
“Entertainment Software Association of Canada” dates back to an era when “entertainment software” was the polite industry term for video games, borrowed directly from the US Entertainment Software Association naming convention. Video Games Canada drops the euphemism and says what the group represents in three words, closer to how peer organizations in other countries brand themselves. ESAC’s own homepage, archived at theesa.ca, still describes the group as “the voice of Canada’s entertainment software industry,” working “on behalf of our member-companies to ensure that Canada remains a great place to innovate, create and publish video games.” That mission statement looks like the one piece of continuity the rename will not touch.
The Video Games Canada Rename Timeline
Here is what is actually confirmed and what is not. Console Creatures’ report, citing Fogolin directly, sets the deadline as sometime before the end of 2026, but it does not pin down an exact date, a launch event, or a new logo. As of ESAC’s February 2026 “About ESAC” page, the organization’s public materials still used the Entertainment Software Association of Canada name, and Canada’s federal Lobbying Registry recorded the group under that same legal name that month. That gap between an announced intention and the paperwork catching up is normal for a nonprofit trade association mid-transition, but it means outside observers shouldn’t expect an overnight switch.
For context on how fast this kind of rebrand usually moves, consider ESAC’s own membership news cadence. The group added Behaviour Interactive, the Montreal studio behind Dead by Daylight, back in April 2025, well before the Video Games Canada plan reportedly surfaced. Trade associations typically phase rebrands over a fiscal year: domain and email migration first, legal and lobbying-registry updates second, full public launch last. If that pattern holds, a formal Video Games Canada unveiling tied to a Canadian industry event in late 2026 is the most likely sequencing.
Inside ESAC’s 23-Member Roster
The name on the door is changing, but the companies behind it are not, at least not yet. ESAC’s membership page, current as of February 2026, lists 23 member organizations spanning global publishers, platform holders, and Canadian-based studios. The roster is less a list of “studios” in the narrow sense and more a cross-section of everyone with a commercial stake in Canada’s game business, from console makers to a cloud platform.
| Member Company | Category | Canadian Footprint |
|---|---|---|
| Ubisoft | Publisher/Developer | Montreal, Toronto, Quebec City studios |
| Electronic Arts | Publisher | Vancouver (BioWare), Montreal offices |
| Take-Two Interactive | Publisher | Canadian distribution and studio ties |
| Eidos Montreal | Developer | Montreal studio |
| WB Games Montreal | Developer | Montreal studio |
| Relic Entertainment | Developer | Vancouver studio |
| Behaviour Interactive | Developer | Montreal, Toronto studios |
| Other Ocean | Developer | St. John’s, Nova Scotia studios |
| Cloud Imperium Montreal | Developer | Montreal studio |
| Ludia | Developer/Publisher | Montreal studio |
| Codename Entertainment | Developer | Vancouver studio |
| Microsoft Canada | Platform Holder | National offices |
| Nintendo | Platform Holder | Canadian distribution arm |
| Sony Interactive Entertainment | Platform Holder | Canadian distribution arm |
| Roblox | Platform | Canadian market operations |
| Epic Games | Publisher/Platform | Canadian market operations |
| Gameloft | Publisher | Montreal, Toronto studios |
| Kabam | Developer | Canadian studio operations |
| Glu Canada | Developer | Canadian studio operations |
| NetEase Games | Publisher | Canadian market operations |
| Netmarble | Publisher | Canadian market operations |
| Tencent | Publisher/Investor | Canadian market operations |
| Solutions 2 GO | Distributor | Canadian distribution |
What stands out in that list is how little room it leaves for Canada’s independent studio scene. Most of the 821 studios counted in the ESAC/Nordicity economic-impact study are not association members; they are small shops with fewer than five employees, by Statistics Canada’s own count. A plain-language rebrand to Video Games Canada could be read as an opening to recruit more of that long tail, even though nothing in Fogolin’s comments to Console Creatures confirms a membership-expansion plan tied to the name change.
Canada’s Game Industry by the Numbers
The economic case for giving Canada’s game lobby a sharper public identity rests on two data sets that measure the industry differently but tell a similar growth story. ESAC’s January 2025 Nordicity-authored study put total GDP contribution at $5.1 billion for 2024, with 34,010 full-time-equivalent positions, an average salary of $102,000, 86% full-time employment, and exports accounting for 88% of industry revenue. Statistics Canada, publishing its own sector profile in the second half of 2025, measured the industry differently: roughly $7 billion in revenue in 2022, up from $2 billion in 2013, with just under 60,000 people employed that year.
| Metric | ESAC / Nordicity (2024 data, released Jan. 2025) | Statistics Canada (2022 data) |
|---|---|---|
| Active studios | 821 | Not separately broken out |
| Employment | 34,010 full-time-equivalent jobs | ~60,000 people (broader measure) |
| Revenue / GDP contribution | $5.1 billion GDP contribution | ~$7 billion in industry revenue |
| Average salary | $102,000 | Not reported |
| Export share | 88% of industry revenue | Not directly comparable |
| Firm size | Not reported | 77.5% of firms have fewer than five employees |
| Ownership split | Not reported | Foreign-owned firms ~$4B revenue vs. Canadian-owned ~$3B |
Neither figure is wrong; they simply measure different things using different reference years and methodologies, which is itself a small illustration of why a single, unified industry voice under one clear name has value for policymakers trying to compare notes. A trade body called Video Games Canada is, on paper, easier for a member of Parliament or a provincial trade official to identify than one called the Entertainment Software Association of Canada, and easier to cite correctly in a committee transcript.
Paul Fogolin’s Expanding Public Role
Fogolin returned to ESAC as president and CEO on November 11, 2024, according to the organization’s own “About ESAC” page, and has since become the group’s most visible public face, both in front of parliamentary committees and in trade press. In testimony recorded by OpenParliament.ca, Fogolin described the organization in plain terms: “We’re the voice of Canada’s video game industry, which includes publishers, developers and console makers.” That framing, industry-wide rather than publisher-specific, lines up with the logic behind dropping “Entertainment Software” in favor of “Video Games.”
It is worth setting that description next to how the group talked about itself more than a decade earlier. In testimony recorded at an earlier Commons committee hearing, Hilchie told MPs that ESAC’s members “collectively employ approximately 16,000 people at nearly 350 companies across the country.” Measured against the 34,010 FTE jobs and 821 studios in the 2024 Nordicity figures, that is roughly double the company count and more than double the employment footprint in just over a decade, a growth curve that helps explain why the association now wants a name that reads as current rather than legacy.
How Video Games Canada Compares to Peer Trade Bodies
Canada is not the first country to have its national game-industry group carry a name built around “entertainment software” rather than “video games” outright. The United Kingdom’s industry association, Ukie, has used a games-first identity for years, reading more directly as a games-industry group to an outside audience than ESAC’s current legal name does. The US Entertainment Software Association, the body ESAC’s current name was modeled on, has kept its original branding for decades, in part because “ESA” has decades of Washington lobbying recognition behind it that a rename would cost. Canada’s association, by contrast, has less entrenched brand equity to protect, which lowers the cost of a clean break to Video Games Canada.
That dynamic plays out across the broader Canadian industry too, where consolidation and labor pressure have been constant themes. Xbox’s Canadian footprint alone has absorbed waves of cuts, including the 5,750 layoffs that have fueled coalition warnings about further Xbox cuts, while smaller studios like the one behind Supermassive’s 75-job reduction show the pressure is not limited to the majors. A rebranded, more visible Video Games Canada would be stepping into its new identity at a moment when the sector it represents is simultaneously growing on paper and shedding jobs on the ground, a contradiction the 821-studio, 34,010-job headline figures do not fully resolve.
What Changes in Practice for Member Companies
For the 23 companies on ESAC’s roster, a rename to Video Games Canada is mostly an identity exercise rather than a governance one. Membership dues, board structure, and the lobbying mandate described in Fogolin’s and Hilchie’s testimony are expected to carry over unchanged; what shifts is the letterhead, the domain, and the name used in federal filings. Canada’s Lobbying Registry still listed the Entertainment Software Association of Canada as of February 2026, meaning any formal registry update will need to follow, not precede, a finalized legal rename, since federal lobbying records track the registered legal name of an organization rather than its marketing identity.
That procedural lag is one reason coverage of the Video Games Canada story should expect a staggered rollout rather than a single press-release moment. A company like WB Games Montreal, now operating under the Paramount-Skydance ownership umbrella following their $111 billion merger, will likely see no operational change at all from the ESAC rebrand, since its membership relationship runs through the trade body, not the other way around.
The Lobbying and Policy Stakes Behind the Rebrand
Trade associations rename themselves for marketing reasons, but the timing often tracks a policy calendar. ESAC’s parliamentary visibility, with Fogolin now a repeat witness before the Canadian Heritage committee according to OpenParliament.ca records, suggests the group is positioning itself for sustained federal engagement, likely tied to tax-credit policy, trade negotiations, and the kind of export-heavy GDP figures its Nordicity study highlighted. A name that plainly says “video games” rather than “entertainment software” is easier for a minister’s office or a budget-committee staffer to search for, cite, and remember between hearings.
That same policy dynamic is playing out in parallel internationally, with regulators scrutinizing the business side of games more directly than before. The European Union’s move to probe nine gaming companies over virtual currency pricing and China’s steady pace of approving 209 games in a single month both show national game-industry bodies are increasingly expected to speak for their sectors in regulatory as well as economic terms. A clearer brand gives ESAC’s successor more standing to do the same in Ottawa.
Market and Industry Reaction
Reaction so far has been muted in public terms, which fits a rebrand that is still, by ESAC’s own February 2026 materials, mid-transition rather than finalized. No member company on the 23-organization roster has issued a separate statement about the Video Games Canada name specifically, and no Canadian studio executive outside of Fogolin has gone on record about it in the sources reviewed for this story. That is not unusual for a trade-association rebrand, where member companies typically defer entirely to the association’s own communications, but it does mean most of what the public knows about the Video Games Canada transition currently traces back to a single outlet, Console Creatures, and a single source, Fogolin.
Historical Context: Why Trade Bodies Rebrand
Trade-association rebrands tend to follow a recognizable pattern: an industry outgrows the vocabulary used to describe it when the group was founded, and leadership eventually updates the name to match the current public understanding of the sector. ESAC’s own history traces that arc. “Entertainment software” was common shorthand in the late 1990s and 2000s, when game publishers wanted distance from the word “games” to sound more like mainstream media companies to investors and regulators. Two decades later, with video games now a mainstream cultural and economic category, and with Canada’s industry growing from the roughly 350 companies and 16,000 jobs Hilchie described in his Commons testimony to the 821 studios and 34,010 FTE jobs ESAC counted for 2024, that caution has become unnecessary baggage. Dropping it looks less like a bold rebrand and more like a catch-up move.
5 Predictions for Video Games Canada’s First Year
- A formal public launch of the Video Games Canada name, likely timed to a Canadian industry event before the end of 2026, consistent with Fogolin’s Console Creatures deadline.
- A lag between the public rebrand and the federal Lobbying Registry update, since registry filings track legal names rather than marketing names and did not reflect the change as of February 2026.
- No immediate change to the 23-member roster, though a plainer, less corporate-sounding name could make it easier to recruit smaller independent studios from the long tail of Canada’s 821 counted studios.
- Increased parliamentary visibility for Fogolin specifically, building on his pattern of testimony before the Canadian Heritage committee, as the renamed group leans on its $5.1 billion GDP figure in federal policy conversations.
- More direct comparisons in trade coverage between Video Games Canada and peer bodies like Ukie in the UK and the US Entertainment Software Association, given the shared lobbying role and the now-closer naming convention.
What to Watch Next
The clearest signal that the Video Games Canada rename has gone from announced to official will be a change to the federal Lobbying Registry entry and to the organization’s own domain, away from theesa.ca. Until both of those update, the safest read is that ESAC remains ESAC in every legal sense, even while its leadership publicly commits to a new name. Canadian studios navigating a difficult labor market, from Xbox-linked cuts to smaller closures across the industry, will be watching to see whether a rebranded lobbying voice translates into concrete federal policy wins, or whether the name change ends up being the most visible part of the transition.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ESAC changing its name to?
The Entertainment Software Association of Canada is set to rename itself Video Games Canada, according to president and CEO Paul Fogolin, as reported by Console Creatures.
When does the ESAC rename take effect?
Fogolin told Console Creatures the change will happen before the end of 2026. No exact date has been confirmed, and as of February 2026 ESAC’s public materials and federal lobbying registration still used the old name.
Why is ESAC becoming Video Games Canada?
No detailed official rationale has been published. The clearest inference is that Video Games Canada is a more direct, current-sounding name than Entertainment Software Association of Canada, a label coined when publishers avoided the word “games” in formal branding.
Who leads ESAC today?
Paul Fogolin is ESAC’s president and CEO, having returned to the role on November 11, 2024, according to the organization’s own “About ESAC” page.
How many companies does ESAC represent?
ESAC’s official membership page lists 23 member organizations, including Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, Nintendo, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Microsoft Canada, and Behaviour Interactive, as of February 2026.
How big is Canada’s video game industry?
ESAC’s January 2025 Nordicity study counted 821 active studios, 34,010 full-time-equivalent jobs, and a $5.1 billion GDP contribution for 2024. Statistics Canada separately measured about $7 billion in industry revenue and roughly 60,000 people employed in 2022.
Will the rename change ESAC’s membership or mandate?
Nothing in the reporting so far indicates a change to ESAC’s mandate or current 23-member roster. The rename looks like an identity change rather than a structural one.
How does Video Games Canada compare to similar groups elsewhere?
The new name brings ESAC’s branding closer to the UK’s Ukie and puts it in a more direct, games-first naming category than the US Entertainment Software Association, which has kept its original name for decades.