Credit: Blowfish Studios (KungFu Kickball)
Small and medium Aussie game developers can now apply to access Federal screen funding as part of Screen Australia's Games: Expansion Pack. It's the latest round of government funding for games developers to help them grow their businesses - you might remember the other recent games funding announcement from the government that will grant Digital Games Tax Offsets (DGTO) of 30 percent to Aussie game developers to help them grow and scale their businesses. The DGTO kicks off on July 1 2022, but applications are now open for Screen Australia: Expansion Pack funding.
Combined, the two funding initiatives should provide a useful financial boost for Aussie game developers, that should make it a little easier to make innovative and interesting games in years to come.
The Screen Australia Games: Expansion Pack is aimed at smaller developers with game development budgets below AU$500K. Funding is capped at AU$150K, and to be eligible applicants will have to meet a number of proof-of-concept criteria for their games, as well as a number of assessment criteria set out on the Screen Australia Website, where they'll also find the application portal to lodge their applications.
Applications for the 2021-22 round of funding close Thursday April 28 2022. To help answer any questions you might have, the Australian games peak body, the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA) along with Screen Australia, are holding a virtual education session on Wednesday March 16, at 4pm AEDT. If you're interested, you can register and submit your questions ahead of the session.
