Events
Published on March 24th, 2026 |
by Adrian Gunning
Screen Australia empowers the next games generation
Screen Australia has today announced the latest funding to help level-up Australian gamemakers, including a cohort of newcomers from non-games fields.
The announcement includes $1.4 million across 26 projects from the Games Production and Emerging Gamemakers funds, supporting the creation of original games centred on Australian stories and ideas. In addition, eight creators will be supported to visit Kyoto’s BitSummit 2026 as part of the Future Leaders Delegation.
Screen Australia Head of Games Joey Egger said, “Supporting emerging gamemakers invests in the future of our talented industry. Having Australian funding support for games is essential for building a resilient and innovative games sector for the next five, ten, twenty years. It’s also inspiring to see creators from diverse backgrounds like architecture, animation and the performing arts working hand-in-hand with some of our more experienced gamemakers. This kind of innovative dynamism, coupled with our unique sense of storytelling, is what makes Australia such an indie powerhouse on the world stage.”
Some of the supported projects include:
- Little Ruin (Vic): An atmospheric, adventure-driven game from architects and first-time gamemakers Mark Fenollar and Fiona Jonson (creative directors), games lecturer Ben Rolfe (lead programmer), graphic designer Maria Montes, character artist Anna Tutova, programmer Max Cahill, multi-award-winning sound designer John Kassab and concept artist Pavel Elagin. Play as a teenage girl navigating the challenges of growing up and finding a sense of belonging through mysteries, in-world exploration and ethical conundrums that radically change the course of the narrative. The score for Little Ruin is composed by AFI/AACTA award nominated sound designer and ARIA-nominated musician Nick Batterham and Melbourne Conservatorium Head of Guitar Ken Murray.
- Foe (NSW): A hand-drawn, 2D animated, action-adventure side scroller with creative direction from filmmakers-turned-gamemakers Sarah Harper and Debbie Steer, and animation direction by Tom Barkel (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie), Christian Barkel and Richard Chhoa (upcoming animation The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender), with lead programmer and composer Andrew Quizon.
- Frostliner (WA): The debut title from Ganedev Studio created by programmer Elizabeth Haynes, developer Nathan Gane and artist Josiah Ward. Journey across a barren landscape in a nomadic train city, building new carriages, adding vital facilities for passengers, unlocking advanced technologies and fighting off or outrunning threats.
- Grove Keeper (NSW): This dark-fantasy, real-time strategy game is from creative director Billy Green and lead programmer Brendan Votano, with 3D art from Skylar Judd and animation from Willow Kable. In a medieval world, become an ancient forest deity, wielding nature’s magic to grow forests, restore wildlife and command powerful guardians to defend the last wild lands.
- Delverium (Qld): From Sagestone Games, this survival sandbox, fantasy-adventure for up to eight players has been developed by Scott Lowther and produced by Charlotte Lowther, with audio direction by Jeff van Dyck, programming by Mark Taylor, 2D artistry by Angus Coolan and community management by Zanthia Lowther. Delverium blends exploration, farming, crafting, settlement building and dungeon crawling in a vast, procedurally-generated world.
- TOYA (SA): Created by technical director Rupert McPharlin and creative director Daniel D’Cruz, with music by former Cirque du Soleil musician Chris Norton, TOYA is a relaxing, tactile and satisfying minimalist puzzle game. In it, help a little squishy cube on a journey through a big world full of surprises and delight.
- Club Rat (Vic): A 2.5D soulslike game produced by The Sequence Group from indie filmmaker Ptolemy Culvenor (creative director), multidisciplinary animator Luke Bicevskis (art director), RMIT games associate lecturer Charlotte Galvin (producer) and industry veteran Cherie Davidson (production consultant). Play as a graffiti-drawn rat thrown into an eccentric community of art come-to-life in a multi-floor night club. Each area showcases a unique art style and the strange and interesting characters who populate this world.
- Tracking Numbers (Working Title) (SA): A debut from multi-disciplinary performing artist Wan Vincy Chan as creative director, with technical assistance by software developer Jackson Michael. In this explorative role-playing story, dive into a retro-futurist city landscape as the new courier recruit serving a vibrant neighbourhood threatened by redevelopment.
- Dungeon Pizza (Qld): A fantasy‑themed cooking game from producer and programmer Louis Van Dyke, game designer, composer and sound designer Oscar Jemmott, co-illustrator and concept artist Elly-Rose Burrowes, co-illustrator and animator Maggie Buckley and concept artist Sam Davis. In Dungeon Pizza, run a pizzeria, unlock new recipes and get to know the weary adventurers who stop by. This world is full of people who help each other – you won’t be slaying dragons; you’ll be serving them a world-class slice.
- Foodomina (Vic): From creative director Irini Melas, lead programmer John Engstrom, award-winning writer William Hinz as narrative designer, multi-genre composer Callum Lee Gow and flautist Isabella Verduci as sound designer, Foodomina is a story-rich RPG, playing as two personified food girls, Takoyaki and Tempura, traversing a galaxy of food-themed planets in a cosmic battle against Mould People.
- Syzygy (Working Title) (Vic): From design researcher Dr Laura Szyman, PhD (RMIT) (artist, designer), architect Bryn Murrell (programmer) and architect Jack Murray (producer, writer, sound designer), this rhythmic narrative game takes place in a world where magic is a vibrating and indescribable force. As the first wizard arriving at a strange village, uncover powers through communion with a strange entity and building spells through “chords” – pressing a set of keys with precise timing.
The Future Leaders Delegation is an initiative designed to support early-to-mid career gamemakers to develop their networks in a strategically relevant region and seek out partnerships, funding and marketplace opportunities. This year, Screen Australia has supported eight individuals to attend Japan’s largest independent games festival BitSummit in Kyoto (22-24 May 2026) and present their games as part of the Australia stand.
The 2026 Future Leaders Delegation recipients are:
- Svitlana Amelina (QLD)
- Chris Baron (TAS)
- Inge Berman (VIC)
- Will Deragon (VIC)
- Daniel Ferguson (NT)
- Aiden Gyory (SA)
- Caitlin Lomax (WA)
- Matthew Lucis (NSW)
The full list of blocklines for Games Production and Emerging Gamemakers is here.
About the Author
Adrian Gunning Adrian lives in Melbourne Australia and has a huge passion for gaming, technology and pop culture. He recently finished his a Bachelor of Journalism and is currently focusing on games journalism. When not writing and playing video games, Adrian can be found in Comics 'R' Us debating the pros of the DC Universe and cons of the Marvel Universe.
