Australia invests $1 million in 11 games from domestic indie developers

Australian federal film agency Screen Australia has expanded its funding program to support more indie developers. It will invest in 11 games of different genres varying from platformers to survival horrors.

Bilkins’ Folly

On February 7, Screen Australia announced that 11 titles will receive over AU$1.5 million (around $1 million) through the Games: Expansion Pack fund (spotted by GI.biz)

The Australian government first launched the fund in March 2022, investing over AU$4 million ($2.7 million) in 30 domestic games. The Games: Expansion Pack focuses on small indie studios with game budgets below AU$500,000 ($348,000).

The new announcement comes after the Australian government launched Revive, a new national culture policy aimed at supporting film, music, and other medium creators. Under the program, the country will provide an additional AU$12 million ($8.37 million) over the next four years to help game developers.

“There are huge opportunities for growth in the local games sector,” Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason said. “The Government’s $12 million investment to support digital games developers and small and medium independent games studios will enable Screen Australia to support more Australian developers to create original games, build sustainable businesses and attract local and global audiences.”

The list of funded games

• Call of the Golden Valley (O’Saurus Studios) — a narrative-driven first-person detective title;
• Trash (Bin Chicken Studios) — a co-op survival craft game set in a wild open world
• GHOST CAM (ARCH REBELS) — a game about capturing ghosts on camera for PC and VR;
• Bilkins’ Folly (Webbysoft) — a narrative adventure game about treasure hunter Percy exploring different islands on a mission to find his missing relatives;

• Copycat (Spoonful Of Wonder) — a narrative-driven exploration game featuring a shelter cat as the main protagonist;
• Diets and Deities (Larrikin Interactive) — a rhythm cooking simulator branded as a combination of Guitar Hero and Master Chef;
• Janet DeMornay Is A Slumlord (and a witch) (Fuzzy Ghost) — a horror game that turns a landlord into a haunting villain;
• Conscript (Jordan Mochi) — an isometric World War I survival horror from solo developer Jordan Mochi;

• Misc. A Tiny Tale (Tinyware Games) — a 3D platformer about two robots;
• Pasture: The Livestock Simulator (Salty Games) — a farming simulator set in the Australian Outback;
• The Sacred Acorn (A Few Dragons) — a colorful adventure game about a courageous squirrel named Ima.