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Australian games studios generated $140.4 million in revenue in 2020

That's a 29 per cent increase year-on-year

Australian games studios generated $140.4 million in revenue in 2020

Australian games firms generated AU$184.6m ($140.4m) in revenue last year.

That's according to the region's industry trade body The Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA), which says that this sector saw a 29 per cent increase in 2020. The organisation also says that "at least" 1,245 people work in the Australian games sector either in-house or as contractors. That's a slight drop on the 1,275 workers that IGEA counted in 2019.

“Government recognition and support is key to unlocking exponential growth of Australia’s game development industry. There is an immediate opportunity to create a $1 billion video game development industry in Australia and play an important part in reviving the Australian economy,” IGEA CEO Ron Curry said.

“Globally, video games were predicted to be a $250 billion industry in 2020, nearly 10 times the global music industry. The Australian game development survey shows industry growth is much larger in states with government funding, like Victoria and South Australia, and these states are likely to see further expansion due to the increased support announced recently. As people turned to games for entertainment and connection during the pandemic, established Australian studios took advantage of the increased demand and sold their products to the world. Imagine how much more the industry could thrive if game developers could access established incentives offered to other screen sectors."

For the full story head over to PCGamesInsider.biz.


PCGamesInsider Contributing Editor

Alex Calvin is a freelance journalist who writes about the business of games. He started out at UK trade paper MCV in 2013 and left as deputy editor over three years later. In June 2017, he joined Steel Media as the editor for new site PCGamesInsider.biz. In October 2019 he left this full-time position at the company but still contributes to the site on a daily basis. He has also written for GamesIndustry.biz, VGC, Games London, The Observer/Guardian and Esquire UK.