Australian Games

The Australian Government Is Finally Going To Support Aussie Game Development

It’s been long known that the Australian government has provided almost zero support to our local video game industry, but that all looks set to change.

As detailed by a post on the IGEA website, the next federal budget will include a tax offset for videogame development marking the first time that the government has had a federal tax incentive for local video game development. This tax offset is said to be 30% which is in-line with the rest of the screen sector.

The tax offset is said to be apart of the Digital Economy Package that is overseen by Superannuation, Financial Service and the Digital Economy Minster, Hon Jane Hume.

IGEA Ceo Ron Curry said: “This is a very welcomed day for Australian-made video games. We congratulate the Prime Minister, Minister Hume, and the Minister for the Arts the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, for recognising not only that video games have an important place alongside TV and film in Australian screen production and storytelling, but also their unparalleled potential for supercharging Australia’s exports, attracting vast inward investment, and up-skilling a whole new generation of Australian digital workers”.

With the Australian video game scene turning out games such as AO Tennis 2, Moving Out and a host of other great game that have taken the world by storm, it’s no doubt that this is long overdue and will go a long way in helping more studios and individuals create more great games.

Speaking about how this huge change will affect the local industry, Curry said: “The Government’s new investment commitment today will do many things. It will spur the creation of brand new Australian game development studios, give existing Australian studios the support they need to take on ambitious new projects and accelerate their growth, plus attract further blockbuster AAA studios to Australia, all of which will create game development jobs in every state.”

“This new federal investment will underpin a new wave of Australian video game development, leading to even more amazing Australian-made games to take to the almost $250 billion global video games market – which is arguably the largest entertainment market in the world – and bring new Australian voices and stories to a truly global audience” continued Curry.