Two Waddell Avenue in Dartmouth, NS, where James Drage maintained offices for several companies. It was a modest setting for a scheme that promised to bridge the gap between Atlantic Canadian innovation and Hollywood prestige.
The Orpheus Interactive project was supposed to be the jewel in the crown of Nova Scotia’s burgeoning digital media sector. Armed with the rights to a major television brand, Drage secured funding from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) and a series of private investors, all eager to catch the next wave of industry success.
"The money didn't just disappear. It was burned through, line item by line item, in a way that left absolutely nothing behind."
As the months turned into years, the grandiose promises of a global video game launch faded. What remained was a tangled web of corporate entities, unanswered questions from provincial regulators, and a community left wondering how the due diligence process failed so spectacularly.