Australian games industry to be bolstered by $20M in funding

As film and television agency Screen Australia recognizes that video games are currently the fastest growing entertainment sector, the company is looking to help the Australian games sector expand with new funding options. Screen Australia is the Australian government's funding organization for the screen production industry, which includes games. The company says that this new injection of $20 million in funding for video game studios is an attempt to counteract job migration and falling foreign investment in the country. In the next 12 months, the company plans to distribute $4-5 million for games production, and $2-3 million for supporting sustainability of game development businesses, amongst other funding efforts. Screen Australia called out Real Racing, Fruit Ninja and L.A. Noire as examples of games that demonstrate the success of Australian-developed titles. Fiona Cameron, Screen Australia's chief operating officer, said that she hopes this funding will also encourage different sectors in the screen production industry to collaborate with each other. "These programs released in draft today go a long way towards realising a strong and sustainable Australian games development sector, to ensure we tap into the huge global appetite for interactive entertainment," she added.