Week of May 8, 2020
Government Announcements / Policies / Funding
- Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy Program Extended Past June - May 8
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today he'll offer more details about the extension next week.The program covers 75 per cent of employees' pay, up to $847, to help employers keep their workers on the payroll for the duration of the COVID-19 crisis.
- Provincial Government Announces BC's Restart Plan - May 6
The government's plan is a four phase strategy that outlines the gradual restarting of the economy. It is a series of careful steps to protect people and ensure that the province can come back from COVID-19 stronger than before.
- Worksafe BC: COVID-19 & Returning to Safe Operation
Worksafe BC has put together materials that provide employers with information and resources to assist in ensuring the risk of exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19 is minimized at their workplace.
- Government Extends Temporary COVID-19 Layoff Period - May 4
To ease financial hardship on businesses and to keep employees connected with their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, government has extended the temporary layoff period to 16 weeks for COVID-19 related reasons.
- ESAC's Summary of Canadian Stimulus Measures & Business Supports - May 4
- ESAC's Summary of Provincial Reopening Plans - May 4
- CRA Confirms SRED Audits & Claims Will Be Fast Tracked - April 23
Industry-Related News
- Mobile games to see the least negative impact from COVID-19 - May 8
- The "COVID bounce" in games shouldn't obscure what lies ahead - May 4
- Feeling COVID-19 stress? Video games could be the cure, says USask computer scientist - May 4
- Games for Carers is giving away thousands of games to NHS workers - April 30
- How the COVID-19 pandemic has affected game developers - April 28
- DigiBC member, East Side Games announced this week the release of their next mobile title, The Goldbergs: Back to the 80s, based on the Sony Pictures Television Inc. network comedy series, The Goldbergs.
- We’d like to congratulate DigiBC member, Finger Food Advanced Technology Group on their big announcement of being acquired by Unity Technologies. Finger Food ATG will join Unity Industrial, the division that ensures the development and deployment of scalable RT3D solutions and services to any industry or enterprise.
Signal Boosting / #GiveBack / How Can I Help?
- Congrats to DigiBC member, 81monkeys for the recent launch of The Chore App. The app turns chores into a game and kids can unlock prizes for doing housework. It's currently in Beta launch but will soon be available for Android and IOS devices.
Companies Currently Hiring
- Hyper Hippo - list of open positions
- SkyBox Labs - list of available roles
- Finger Food ATG - list of open positions
- Kabam Vancouver - list of job openings
- Mainframe Studios - list of open roles
- Next Level Games - list of job openings
- Blackbird Interactive - list of available roles
- WildBrain Studios - list of open positions
- Atomic Cartoons - list of job openings
- Phoenix Labs - list of available roles
- Kano Apps - list of open positions
- Animal Logic - list of job openings
- Cinesite - list of current open positions
- East Side Games is looking for a Senior Game Designer
- Sony Imageworks is looking for a Software Engineer - Shader Writer
*More listings can be found on the DigiBC Job Board
Upcoming Virtual Events of Interest
May 13 - Virtual Tech Talent Day
May 17 - P.V.P. Pitch Circuit - On Air (accepting pitch submissions until May 9)
Youth Innovation Showcase Events
May 19: Bridging the Physical and Digital Worlds Through VR/AR
May 21: Building Your Idea: Learn to Code & Create Your Own Virtual Reality World
May 26: Build Yourself into the Social Fabric of a New Post-Corona Economy
