Building a thriving games development industry in Australia
IGEA launches report to provide recommendations for industry support
Sydney, Australia: December 13, 2018 – The Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (IGEA), has today launched ‘Building a Thriving Interactive Games Development Industry in Australia‘, a formalised set of recommendations to government and industry on how Australia can better capitalise on the weightless export that video games offer and remain internationally competitive.
While the video game development industry has huge potential as a contributor to the Australian economy, to reach its full potential, it requires the right funding, support and attention from the federal government.
Key recommendations in the report include a range of tax incentives and offsets for developers that exist for other screen industries, the reinstatement of the successful Australian Interactive Games Fund, and focused workspaces and regional hubs for game developers.
According to Ron Curry, CEO of IGEA, while there appears to be vigorous and bipartisan agreement about the potential value of Australia’s video games development sector, the industry continues to slip through the cracks when it comes to reinstating and implementing key initiatives and programs.
“This document has been designed to be a clear and pragmatic set of recommendations following ongoing and detailed consultation with our members and the broader industry. As we head into the next federal election cycle, we have launched this document to ensure that there is absolute clarity on what focused investment is needed to support industry development.”
Globally, the interactive games sector is estimated to be worth almost AUD $200 billion, and is one of the largest and fastest growing entertainment and media industries in the world. Canada, with a population of around 35 million, has a government that has long invested in their interactive games industry, with the industry now worth CAN $3.7 billion (AUD $3.8 billion) and a workforce consisting of 21,800 workers.
“The games development sector is exactly the kind of jobs-of-the-future, innovative, technology-based industry that will help Australia develop its innovation capability and potential for weightless exports.
The people in our games development community and the broader interactive entertainment industry are highly skilled across numerous disciplines, hardworking, innovative and passionate. The objective of this document is to ensure that their voices are heard as federal government makes key decisions about how it will form policy and programs to support the development of industries like ours.”
The full document can be found here:
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