Screen Australia will commit $6 million over two years to support small to medium independent game studios as part of a new initiative launched today.
Under Games: Expansion Pack, original video games across different platforms with budgets below $500,000 will be able to apply for direct funding.
The fund joins the Federal Government’s Digital Games Tax Offset (DGTO) in providing assistance to the gaming industry, with the rebate —set to take effect July 1— allowing those with a qualifying Australian expenditure of over $500,000 to receive a 30 per cent tax offset. It also covers ongoing development work on digital games following their release.
Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason said the aim of the new fund was to enable independent Australian studios to advance the “ambition and quality” of their digital games, and transition into businesses more equipped to compete in the global market.
“The games sector is a fast-growing space and very important part of the Australian screen ecosystem,” he said.
“Australians working in the games sector are making names for themselves internationally in what is an extremely competitive industry.
“Screen Australia is delighted to be able to support the sustainability of our local industry.”
Games: Expansion Pack comes after the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA) lobbied the government in January to establish a direct funding program similar to the now-defunct Australian Interactive Games Fund in order to support independent game developers.
CEO Ron Curry said the initiative was a “welcome addition” to the suite of already announced government funding for game developers and signalled the industry’s importance to the screen sector.
“The Federal Government has consulted very closely with IGEA and the Australian game development sector to commit to the introduction of the Digital Games Tax Offset (DGTO), a globally competitive tax incentive of 30 per cent to be launched on 1 July 2022.
“Coupled with the new Games: Expansion Pack initiative, we expect to see accelerated growth for highly creative and skilled Australian games studios and practitioners.”
Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, the Paul Fletcher the said Games: Expansion Pack was part of the government’s plan to “boost the sector and support digital games studios at all stages of their growth.
“The Morrison Government is backing the Australian digital games sector all the way, with our groundbreaking commitment to a 30 per cent tax offset for digital games, which will supercharge investment into digital games in Australia,” he said.
“While the eligibility condition for the digital tax offset means that it is targeted at digital games studios that have reached a certain minimum scale, we also want to encourage smaller games studios to be able to build to reach this scale.
Applications for the Games: Expansion Pack are now open to small and medium businesses, with eligibility possibly being expanded to include larger studios in the 2022/23 financial year.
Find more information about the guidelines here.