The Australian video game sector kept a steady course during the pandemic, says industry body IGEA, which has celebrated the introduction of a new tax break for Aussie game studios.
IGEA, the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association, has released results of a survey which found that 62 per cent of respondents enjoyed stable or increased revenue – up from 33 per cent at the same time last year – with 63 per cent of established developers planning to take on new staff.
The industry was not without headwinds, however: 31 per cent of respondents suffered a loss in contractual revenue, while 61 per cent were hit by the inability to travel leading to cancellation of projects and difficulty networking.
Additionally, smaller studios were less successful, with only 32 per cent studios of less than 14 people seeing stable or increased revenues.
Ron Curry, CEO of IGEA, said the Federal Government’s upcoming Digital Games Tax Offset (DGTO) is a positive signal to developers and studios, but more needs to be done to support smaller companies that cannot access the funding.
“The introduction of the DGTO in July 2022 injects certainty and confidence to our talented local market and those companies looking to invest in Australia.
“The DGTO enables Australia to build a complete thriving local games ecosystem and ensure game developers both lead and shape the new digital economy,” he said.
The survey of 52 Australian game studios was taken between May 12 and June 7 this year.
