31 Aussie Games Share In The Spoils Of Over $4 Million In Funding From Screen Australia

Screen Australia has announced that 31 games will share in over $4 million of funding that will help bring projects to life, take the next step in development, or bring them closer to release.

The announcement was made by The Minister for the Arts, the Hon Tony Burke MP, in conjunction with Screen Australia who through its Games Expansion Pack fund will see 31 projects receive funding. The more than $4 million in funding increased from the initial $3 million due to the excellent calibre of the applicants and will include projects from a plethora of genres.

When talking about the announcement, Screen Australia’s Head of Online, Lee Naimo said, “We were blown away by the number of outstanding applications which have demonstrated the wealth of talented creatives and original ideas that are coming out of the Australian games sector. We’re excited to be back in this space and supporting Australian developers to continue to create distinctive games that find traction here and around the world, and help strengthen the local workforce.”

Applications will re-open again in September, where developers who have projects with a budget of under $500k encouraged to apply.

The full list of projects that secured funding can be found below.

A HALLOWEEN VALENTINE
Things For Humans
Genre Adventure, Puzzle, Music
Creative Director Jacob Leaney
Narrative Lead Alistair Baldwin
Platform PC, PS5, Switch
Synopsis A Halloween Valentine is a pop-song puzzle adventure set in a haunted amusement park on Valentine’s Day.

AZOIC
Tumbleweed Games Pty Ltd
Genre Adventure, Casual, Puzzle
Lead Developer Connor Arthur Young
Platform PC
Synopsis Play as an Orb…attach…and play as its Golem Body. Use both to explore a ruin, solve puzzles and make the world bloom!

BITS & BOPS
Tempo Lab Games
Genre Rhythm
Managing Director Evan Andrews
Art Director Rose Hammer
Composer Julian Sanchez
Platform PC
Synopsis A collection of original rhythm mini-games.

BONZA PHRASES
Minimega
Genre Casual, Puzzle, Word
Creative Director Ben Huxter
Technical Director Punya Huxter
Platform Mobile
Synopsis This word puzzle game celebrates proverbs, idioms and figures of speech that have become part of everyday language.

BOSSWORDS
PlayReactive Pty Ltd
Genre Puzzle
Creative Director Harry Lee Shang Lun
Platform Mobile, PC, Mac
Synopsis Bosswords is a compelling and challenging word game.

DROS
Emergeworlds Pty Ltd
Genre Action, Adventure, Platformer, Puzzle
Creative Director Ben Ward
Producer Tim Molony
Lead Programmer Deon Chique
Platform PC, Xbox Series X/Xbox Series S, PS5, Switch
Synopsis Enter a charming and vibrant world filled with adventure, puzzles, and lots of goo.

EARTHLINGO
Earthlingo
Genre Educational, Platformer, Role-playing
Creators Raymond Corrigan, Zilin Su
Platform Mobile, PC, Mac
Synopsis Explore a planet, learn a language.

ENCHANTRESS
Cactus Jam Games Pty Ltd
Genre Adventure, Casual, Building/Crafting, Visual novel
Creative Director Nidula Geeganage
Art Director Julia Ye
Lead Programmer Audrey Castillo
Artist Friyana Madon
Platform Mobile, PC, Mac, Switch
Synopsis The enchanting adventure of a young woman running a jewellery shop.

ENTER THE CHRONOSPHERE
Effort Star
Genre Action, Role-playing, Roguelike
Producer/Developer Rhys van der Waerden
Designer/Writer Ned Kirner
Platform PC
Synopsis A tactical roguelike where each turn is a slice of real-time action.

FOX AND SHADOW
Paper Cactus Games Pty Ltd
Genre Strategy, Role-playing, Deckbuilding Roguelike
Producer Leo Cheung
Lead Programmer Jackson Michael
Lead Design Sapphire Van Veen
Platform PC, Mac
Synopsis Salvage, scrap, repeat. Fox and Shadow is a deck-builder with roguelike elements. Set in a city ruined by pollution, a few pilots guide their drones to salvage the materials they need to keep their home running.

FUTURE FOLKLORE
Guck Pty Ltd
Genre Casual, Building/Crafting
Game Director Hayley Percy Joyce
Art Director Jarra Karalinar Steel
Lead Design Phoebe Watson
Producer Ripley Kavara
Lead Developer Daniel Dang
Lead Artist Charlotte Allingham
Managing Director Kati Elizabeth
Composer Robert Champion
Community Manager Matthew Ngamurarri Heffernan
Platform Mobile
Synopsis Australia’s first ever Aboriginal-led mobile game, Future Folklore (Working Title) invites you to restore the bush and Care for Country through a uniquely Indigenous lens, all located in a futuristic fantasy Australian-bush-inspired setting.

GUBBINS
Studio Folly
Genre Casual, Puzzle, Word
Game Director Darcy Smith
Creative Director Jessica Shipard
Platform Mobile
Synopsis A game about placing chunks of letters to make words, with the help and hindrance of wildcard modifiers.

HOTEL MAGNATE
Arcade Oven Pty Ltd
Genre Simulation, Strategy, Building/Crafting, Management
Creative Director James Hindle
Platform PC, Mac
Synopsis A hotel and resort simulator/Tycoon game.

LEGEND OF VALLEY
Shark Jump Pty Ltd
Genre Action, Adventure
Lead Programmer Matt Le Krupa
Lead Design Matt Trobbiani
Lead Artist James Pearse
Composer Kevin Penkin
Platform PC, Mac, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/Xbox Series S, PS4, PS5, Switch
Synopsis Legend of Valley is a vibrant action-adventure game about exploring a dangerous and mysterious valley, and discovering the secrets of the past.

LEONARDO’S MOON SHIP
Secret Lab Pty Ltd
Genre Adventure, Puzzle, Narrative
Creative Director Jon Manning
Narrative and Creative Jim Capobianco
Producer Paris Buttfield-Addison
Platform Mobile, PC, Mac
Synopsis In Renaissance Florence, famed inventor Leonardo da Vinci is the talk of the town, and his renown grows by the day. But when a mysterious message calls to Leo, he finds himself torn between the love of his fans, the wrath of his enemies, and his boundless desire to learn more.

MACABRE
Weforge Studio Pty Ltd
Genre Multiplayer, Adventure, Science fiction, Horror
Lead Developer Ben Sutherland
Creative Director Jay Topping
Game Director Jake Davey
Lead Artist Ricardo Caixe
Consultant Maximilian Rea
Platform PC with VR support
Synopsis Macabre is an immersive multiplayer horror game developed in Unreal Engine 5. You’ll form part of a small research team whose job is to investigate a series of strange events and uncover what’s causing them. Along the way, you’ll gain access to more equipment, upgrades, and skills that’ll prove crucial to navigating and unlocking new areas. As you explore the procedurally generated maps, it quickly becomes apparent there are far greater forces at play.

MATCHMAKER: DUNGEON HEART
Ghost Moth Pty Ltd
Genre Simulation, Role-playing, Puzzle, Dating Simulation
Lead Developer Jordan Cook-Irwin
Lead Artist Kelly Gilkes
Technical Designer Haydon Bakker
Composer Dylan Imeneo
Narrative Designer Blythe Thompson
Platform PC
Synopsis Defend the Dungeon. Date the Monsters.

MOON CORP TOWER DEFENSE
Kite Shield Interactive Pty Ltd
Genre Strategy, Role-playing, Management
CEO/Co-Founder Saxon Hutchinson
CFO/Co-Founder Blayne Cuzner
Art Director/Co-Founder Robert Dickson
Marketing Director Anna Barrett
Composer Daniel Poole
Senior Programmer Xavier Poole
Lead Programmer Justin Cragg
Senior Programmer Jake Goodsir
Lead Artist Meg Groeneveld
Lead Quality Assurance Daniel Jackson
Voice Director Kat Bramston
2D/3D Artist Shay-Lee Atkins
Game Designer Rhys Adams
Game Designer Chris Selleck
Character Artist Alex Murphy
Platform PC, Mac, Console Release TBA
Synopsis Moon Corp. Tower Defense, is a Tower Defense and business management game where the player manages their own company to research and build defenses against an alien invasion of the moon. Aliens Down, Profits Up!

MOONLIGHT IN GARLAND
Winters Group Estate
Genre Simulation, Role-playing, Casual
Developer Violet LeBeaux
Platform PC, Mac
Synopsis Moonlight in Garland is a chill open-ended life sim about finding your feet in the big city. Decorate your apartment, make new friends, grow too many houseplants and love your city life!

PLANETATION
2Bit Studios Pty Ltd
Genre Action, Adventure, Co-op Online, Building/Crafting, Survival
Lead Developer Andrew Joy
Lead Artist Matthew Joy
Platform PC
Synopsis On the harmstead you sow crops by day, plough hordes of alien pests by night, and spelunk the “Very Dark” depths whenever you damn well please. This bloodthirsty alien planet doesn’t want you here, but you’re a robot in a tractormech so what do you care?

PROJECT FELINE
Fischer-Cripps Laboratories Pty Ltd
Genre Action, Platformer, Parkour, Speed-running
Creative Director Raymond Cripps
Platform PC, others to be announced
Synopsis Project Feline is a parkour game where players master Gabi’s abilities to stylishly traverse anime-inspired urban landscapes.

SCHRODINGER’S CAT BURGLAR
Abandoned Sheep
Genre Adventure, Puzzle
Managing Director Martin Binfield
Platform PC, Mac, Switch
Synopsis When the world’s greatest cat burglar sneaks into a secret research facility she is caught in a quantum experiment and gains incredible quantum super powers. Now she must explore the facility from top to bottom to uncover the truth…

SERVONAUTS
Maxart Pty Ltd
Genre Action, Casual, Puzzle
Creative Director Thomas MacNamara
Lead Artist Johan Becconsall
Producer Tom Smeltzer
Managing Director Peter Clowes
Platform PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/Xbox Series S, PS4, PS5, Switch
Synopsis As a goofy ‘Servonaut’, manage pipes and avoid hilarious fatalities to provide fuel, air and other necessities to visitors of your space gas station.

STARWISP HYPERDRIVE
Ghost Cat Games
Genre Adventure, Role-playing
Creative Director Georgia Patton
Technical Director Daniel Kirchner
Platform PC, Mac, Xbox Series X/Xbox Series S, PS4, PS5, Switch
Synopsis Starwisp Hyperdrive is a space exploration adventure role-playing game.

THE DUNGEON EXPERIENCE
BONE Assembly
Genre Adventure
Platform PC
Managing Directors Jacob Janerka, Simon Boxer
Synopsis Level up your life with The Dungeon Experience. A high fantasy adventure guided by a low level monster.

THE INDIGO INITIATIVE
Caustic Reality Pty Ltd
Genre Adventure, Puzzle
Managing Director Clinton McCleary
Platform PC, Xbox Series X/Xbox Series S, PS5
Synopsis Many years after a cataclysmic event, a scientist is woken from cryostasis to explore the multiverse for a way to undo the worldwide disaster.

THE MASTER’S PUPIL
Pat Naoum Games Pty Ltd
Genre Adventure, Platformer, Puzzle
Creative Director Pat Naoum
Platform PC, Mac, Xbox Series X/Xbox Series S, PS5, Switch
Synopsis A hand-painted 2D puzzle adventure game set inside the eye of the artist Monet.

TIMESAVERS
Monomyth Games
Genre Action, Puzzle
Creative Director Tristram Geary
Technical Director Quincy Geary
Game Designer/Sound Director Byron Laschuk
Platform PC
Synopsis Business idea: Look into people’s futures, stop accidents before they happen, and get paid. What could go wrong?

TOTEM TELLER
Grinning Pickle Pty Ltd
Genre Transcendental, Narrative
Creative Director Benjamin Kerslake
Writer/Narrative Designer Alexander Swords
Lead Programmer Jerry Verhoeven
Platform PC, Mac, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/Xbox Series S
Synopsis Where does a muse find inspiration? Gather listeners and seek tellers in beautiful, broken places. Retell lost stories or discard them forever. Truth is in the telling.

UNTITLED
Wombat Brawler Pty Ltd
Genre Casual, Arcade
Creative Director Mark White
Technical Director Brendan Watts
Platform Mobile, PC, Mac, Xbox Series X/Xbox Series S, PS4, PS5, Switch
Synopsis Crash your way through crazy obstacle courses and create your own to challenge your friends!

UNTITLED
Exbleative
Genre Racing
Managing Director Jay Weston
Lead Programmer Rhys Lindsay
Platform PC
Synopsis A racing game.

How good is it that more Aussie games are getting supported by the government? Let us know in the comments or on social media which projects caught your eye.