With its latest gaming funding, Screen Australia has allocated $1.4 million to help gamemakers develop new projects and upskill. Twenty-six games will benefit, including titles in the puzzle, role-playing and adventure genres. The Federal Government agency is also providing funding to the Freeplay 2025 Events Series.
Among the games supported via the Emerging Gamemakers Fund and Games Production Fund, highlights include “Ashes” from producer/developer Clea Frost, lead developer Nick Loki, 2D artists Phoenix Waddell and Jennifer Reuter, and composer Trent Francis, which follows a 16-year-old skater who witnesses a murder.
Hand-drawn puzzle “Slumbering Woods” is set in a flooded village after a climate catastrophe, and hails from creative director Svitlana Amelina, lead developer Oleg Chernyshenko and sound designer Jane Wei.
Point-and-click visual novel game “Nothing to Do Summer Vacation — Part 1” takes place in a small town as mysteries unravel, with illustrator and comic artist Mel Stringer making her debut in games as creative director, and Adam Prenger the title’s lead programmer.
From creative director Sophie Till and technical director Jamie Dougall, “Fern: Seed Guardian” focuses on a native mouse that encounters a strange goo in a fantastical version of the Australian bushland.
Screen Australia’s new investment builds upon the $3 million allocated to 49 games in 2024–25.
“Digital games are a billion-dollar global industry and Australia’s sector is growing every year. This funding ensures that we’re backing homegrown talent in order to be at the top of the leaderboard,” said Australian Minister for the Arts Tony Burke, announcing the latest funding.
“What struck me about these projects is the depth of talent and the distinctiveness of the content; the diversity of our culture, communities, landscapes and stories really shines through. We’re seeing games being developed all across the country including regional towns such as Wallabadah in New South Wales and Toongabbie in Victoria,” added Screen Australia Head of Games Joey Egger.
“It’s also incredibly exciting to see another round of projects transitioning from the Emerging Gamemakers Fund through to the Games Production Fund. It reinforces our unique position as an end-to-end avenue for Australian gamemakers to take their projects from concept to prototype, to production and then launch,” Egger continued.
Also among the newly funded games, “Buru and The Old People” heroes Indigenous storytelling, with 2024 Australian Game Developer Awards Rising Star recipient Benjamin Armstrong its creative director, working with producer Brooke Collard, 2D artist Letoya Muraru, and composer Alexander Tulett.
Exploring Antarctica as penguins is at the heart of “Penguin Colony” from Megan Faulkner, audio engineer David Mason and creative director Naphtali Faulkner, while “Retopia” is a management game focusing on robot companions courtesy of Chaos Theory Games, including creative lead Jennyfer Ong, lead designer Nicholas King and lead producer James Lockrey.
For more information on the full list of games funded, visit Screen Australia’s website.
