Federal Arts Minister, Tony Burke, announced today the successful recipients of the Games Enterprise program, part of the $20 million pledged for the Australian Interactive Games Fund announced last November. The program accessors, who include Siobhan Reddy and Rob Murray, chose the following ten local games developers to receive a total of $6 million of funding over the next three years...
- Defiant Development (QLD) Morgan Jaffit, Dan Treble
- ODD Games (SA) Ben Marsh, Terry O’Donoghue, David O’Donoghue
- Soap Creative (NSW) Ashley Ringrose, Bradley Eldridge
- Tantalus Media (VIC) Tom Crago
- Tin Man Games (VIC) Ben Britten Smith, Neil Rennison
- Torus Games (VIC) Bill McIntosh
- Twiitch (VIC) Steven Spagnolo, Shane Stevens
- Uppercut Games (NSW/ACT) Andrew James, Ryan Lancaster, Ed Orman
- The Voxel Agents (VIC) Simon Joslin, Matthew Clark
- Wicked Witch Software (VIC) Daniel Visser
The applicants of the Games Enterprise program had to fit a number of criteria, including having at least one company director with a minimum of five years participation in the games industry. The developers above were chosen based on the the quality and viability of their business plan, the experience, expertise and talents of the company, and the projects currently in development or proposed for future development.
Screen Australia’s Chief Operating Officer, Fiona Cameron, summarises what the funding grant hopes to achieve for the Australian games industry...
(Fiona) “The successful companies represent a diverse range of Australian game studios, from start up companies to larger developers. Funding will ensure an expansion in the workforce, allowing smaller developers to gain critical mass and larger developers to shift from a reliance on work for hire to developing original projects”
The deadline for the Games Production fund is on the 12th of July. Visit Screen Australia for more details and the guidelines here.