The government of South Australia has put aside $2 million AUD, roughly $1.5 million USD to assist local game developers through both grants and the creation a game dev focused co-working space.
Both of the government’s developer-focused endeavors should be of note to South Australian game developers looking for funding resources or even to expand their local game dev social circles.
The funding initiative itself is nested under the South Australian Game Development Fund and will allocate a total of $1.55 million (~$1.2 million USD) to grants for various areas of development.
South Australian developers can see up to $20,000 (~$15,700 USD) to attend ‘skill development’ focused events such as conferences and speaking events, between $5,000 and $15,000 (~$3,900 - $11,800 USD) to develop and execute marketing plans, and between $15,000 to $50,000 (~$11,800 - $39,300 USD) to hire additional staff, acquire hardware and software, or cover other production-related costs. Though, for grants geared at production, the organization requires developers to match grants on a 2:1 basis.
The remaining $450,000 (~$353,500 USD) is set to be invested in a game development co-working space called Game Plus. All in all, the South Australian government expects the investment to create 500 local jobs and help the region gain a foothold in the global game development scene.
More information on the investment can be found on the South Australian Premier’s website while developers interested in applying for a grant can find details here.