We here at WellPlayed have the softest of soft spots for homegrown gaming goodness – and of late our sunburnt land has been cranking out some genuine stellar hits.
So we are excited to note that our hardworking Aussie devs will get a leg up, via a revived Australian Interactive Games Fund, a scheme that was first introduced over a decade ago and provided access to a $20 million dollar fund to stimulate game development.
The fund was tragically cut in 2014, but the Albanese government has committed to a plan to reinstate this leg-up alongside a further boost to creative sectors for all of Australia – via a new National Cultural Policy, named “REVIVE”.
Govt pledges $12m to restore interactive games fund https://t.co/7redrPLyam
— IGEA (@igea) January 30, 2023
Early documentation of the proposed implementation cover the history of the fund, and some really stellar numbers that more than establish a real cause for why Australian game development matters, with neato examples such as this tidbit from Tony Reed, the Chief Executive Officer of the Game Developers’ Association of Australia (GDAA):
Some funding recipients have generated export revenues more than 10 times the original investment from the fund.
He even lays out the benefit to workers within these studios, once they had access to the stimulus:
Some have doubled or tripled the size of their studios or moved from contract arrangements to full‑time employment. Many have won international awards for their work.
And these are examples from the previous implementation of the fund – before we experienced the current surge of talent that we are now experiencing. Imagine incredible offerings like Cult of the Lamb or Untitled Goose Game being let loose upon the world with further resources being provided at a Federal level.
Cult of the Lamb was a stellar Australian success
Our parliamentary documentation even states that government support for video game development is successful in other countries, which helps back up the point that ignoring the industry is just hurting the potential for the video game industry to make a valuable contribution to the Australian economy.
Overall, it’s a huge win for Australian Gamers and Game devs alike – in our digital age it is just embarrassing to pretend that interactive media doesn’t matter. It’s electrifying to see a discussion like this happen, and you can bet we can look forward to some positively excellent outcomes.
Are you interested in Australian game development? Are you an existing developer that will benefit from this scheme? Let us know in the comments or on our social media.
