Australian Game Development Survey
Download PDFDec, 2023 Australian game
development survey
FY2023
REPORT
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical by Summerfall Studios
FOREWORD
It is with great pleasure that I introduce the Australian Game Development Survey (AGDS) FY 2023 Industry
Snapshot. This year’s report marks the seventh year that IGEA has undertaken this important survey, providing
valuable insights into the size, scope, and health of the Australian game development industry.
The AGDS FY2023 Industry Snapshot paints a picture of an industry continuing to grow and mature at a
steady pace. Over $345 million was generated by Australian game developers in FY2023, representing
an increase of 21% over the previous year. At least 2,458 people work directly in the sector, representing
employment growth of 17%. The local industry is maturing with a significant number of businesses having
more than a decade’s worth of experience.
Much of this growth has been underpinned by the suite of support offered by the governments at both
Federal and State levels, providing confidence to the sector and the ability to commence many new game
projects. Despite adverse global economic conditions directly impacting our sector, Australian developers
remain cautiously optimistic, with almost two-thirds of respondents aiming to hire more staff in 2024.
Securing private investment and publishing deals will be challenging for game developers as we enter
2024, as was highlighted in the survey. No doubt the Australian industry will innovate and adapt to meet
these challenges, having an enviable reputation around the world for developing highly creative and unique
products, plus the ability to lift, persist and support each other through such difficult times.
We sincerely thank those studios who participated in this survey, as it provides the vital data IGEA requires
to advocate on the industry’s behalf. The provision of reliable and consistent data allows IGEA to seek and
provide recognition and support from all forms of government and, in turn, enhance the Australian game
development ecosystem.
Enjoy this snapshot of our ever-changing and dynamic industry, and remember to support Australian-made
games. If you need a list of recommendations, try the games from our AGDAs winners and finalists lists for
the last few years.
Yours sincerely,
Ron Curry
CEO, IGEA
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INCOME GENERATED BY
AUSTRALIAN GAME DEVELOPMENT STUDIOS IN FY 2023
$ 345.5M
NUMBER OF FULL TIME EMPLOYEES *
IN
AUSTRALIAN GAME DEVELOPMENT STUDIOS
2458
OF STUDIOS ARE PLANNING TO HIRE NEW STAFF IN FY 2024 ESTIMATED AT OVER
NEW
HIRES
63% 200+
AN INCREASE OF
17%
AN INCREASE OF OVER
PREVIOUS
YEAR
OVER
PREVIOUS
YEAR
21%
87%
OF REVENUE COMES FROM
OUTSIDE OF AUSTRALIA
OF THOSE DEVELOPERS SELLING GAMES
Export focused IP importance
89%
OF RESPONDENTS
DEVELOP THEIR OWN IP
Projected growth
68%
OF STUDIOS ARE PREDICTING INCOME
GROWTH OVER THE NEXT YEAR
21%
OF STUDIOS ARE PREDICTING STABLE
INCOME NEXT YEAR
The big numbers
AN INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT FY2023
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69%
ARE (CISGENDER) MALE
26%
ARE (CISGENDER) FEMALE
5%
ARE TRANSGENDER,
NON-BINARY
OR GENDER DIVERSE
Highly skilled
employees Employee * gender diversity
35%
PROGRAMMERS/ ENGINEERS
28%
ARTISTS
10%
MANAGEMENT,
ADMIN AND
MARKETING 9%
DESIGNERS
2%
OTHER
2%
AUDIO
7%
PRODUCERS
5% QA
2%
NARRATIVE
*includes full time equivalents and contractors
Studio output
of respondents were
developing their first game of respondents have made
more than 10 games
29% 23%
AN INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT FY2023
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Studio location
29%
BASED IN
VIC
9%BASED IN
SA
22%
BASED IN
NSW
20%BASED IN
QLD 11%BASED IN
WA
2%
BASED IN
NT
6%BASED IN
ACT
1%
BASED IN
TA S
Full time employee * location
4 1 %
BASED IN
VIC
12%BASED IN
SA
16%
BASED IN
NSW
3%BASED IN
ACT
1 %BASED IN
TA S
3%
BASED IN
WA
1%
BASED IN
NT
25%BASED IN
QLD
10%
HAVE STAFF WORKING IN
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
*includes full time equivalents and contractors.
10+
79%
OF RESPONDENTS
HAVE STUDIOS WITH
LESS THAN
20 EMPLOYEES
Studio size
45%
OF STUDIOS ARE
5 YEARSOLD OR LESS OLD
32%
OF STUDIOS ARE
10 YEARSOLD OR MORE
OF STUDIOS ARE 6-9 YEARS
23%
Studio stage
AN INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT FY2023
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Challenges facing the industry
1
ATTRACTING EARLY-STAGE DEVELOPMENT FUNDING 2
HIRING EMPLOYEES WITH SPECIALISED SKILLS
3 SECURING INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHER DEALS
51%
INTEND
TO UTILISE THE DGTO
IF ELIGBLE • Development of plans to undertake more projects
Since the announcement of the DGTO, Australian businesses have seen:
• Increased interest from international businesses
Impacts of DGTO
49%
OF RESPONDENTS RECEIVED SOME FORM OF
GOVERNMENT FUNDING
19%
OF DERIVE INCOME AND INVESTMENT FROM
OVERSEAS BUSINESSES
AN INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT FY2023
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Key Figures
*Please see FAQ and note that in the FY2021, FY2022 and FY2023 survey, Gender Diverse as a category includes Transgender Male, Transgender Female and Non-Binary people.
FY2023 FY2022 FY2021 FY2020 FY2019 FY2017 FY2016
No. of companies 111 102 187 97 143 114 63
Revenue (Million) $345.5 $284.4 $226.5 $184.6 $143.5 $118.5 $114.8
No. of employees 2458 2104 1327 1245 1275 928 842
Men 1696 1578 878 996 995 752 683
Women 639 442 302 212 268 167 156
Gender diverse * 123 84 147 37 12 9 3
Revenue
$225M
$300M
$400M
$150M
$75M
FY2016 FY2017 FY2019 FY2020 FY2021 FY2022 FY2023
The revenue generated by Australian
game developers continues a steady,
upward trajectory, reporting 21%
growth over the previous year. In
fact, revenue has effectively tripled
in the time IGEA has been producing
this industry snapshot and is likely
underpinned by the global demand
for video game content and increased
government support (Federal and
State) finally available to the sector.
Most respondents to this year’s survey
are predicting revenue to increase or
at least remain stable for FY2024.
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Employment
No. Of Employees
FY2016 FY2017 FY2019 FY2020 FY2021 FY2022 FY2023
2250
3000
1500
750
Game development employees work across a variety of highly creative and technical roles, with the sector this year
comprising of: The increased revenues
being enjoyed across the
Australian games industry
have resulted in further
job growth with studios
reporting staffing levels of
almost 2,500, which is up
17% on the previous year.
63% of respondents plan
to hire more staff in FY2024
which hopefully will lead to
more than 200 new hires.
2023 saw growth in the number of employees working in programming, engineering, and art.
Again this year, studios reported their biggest challenge is hiring staff with specialised skills.
Programmers/ Engineers Artists
Management,
Admin, and Marketing Designers
Producers QAAudioNarrative Other
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Studio Location
Game developers are working across Australia with the majority located in the Eastern states and in capital cities.
In fact, 10% of all respondents have staff working in multiple locations. This year we asked respondents to indicate
which states/territories they have offices located in with the results as follows.
Almost 30% of all respondents have a presence in Victoria, which continues to be home to the highest number
of game development employees. Again, we are seeing growth in full time game developer employees based in
states such as Queensland and South Australia who are increasingly funding game development expansion into their
regions offering rebates and direct funding.
State Studio Location Full Time Employees
VICTORIA 29% 41%
NEW SOUTH WALES 22% 16%
QUEENSLAND 20% 25%
SOUTH AUSTRALIA 9% 12%
WESTERN AUSTRALIA 11% 3%
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY 6% 3%
NORTHERN TERRITORY 2% 1%
TASMANIA 1% 1%
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Gender Diversity
FY2023 saw an increase in Cisgender
Females and gender diverse people
being employed in the sector:
The trends in diversity are summarised in the graph below:
Many Australian studios are actively aiming to hire, attract and retain diverse candidates and this is
having an impact on the employee make up of studios.
No. Of Employees
Men
MenWomenTransgender/non-binary/gender diverse
1800
1350
900
450
FY2016 FY2017 FY2019 FY2020 FY2021 FY2022 FY2023
Women
Transgender/non-binary/gender diverse 69%
26% 5%
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Australian Industry Ecosystem
This year’s industry snapshot revealed the breadth of studio size and maturity size across the Australian development
ecosystem. The key data is as follows:
STUDIO STAGE (in years):
In terms of maturity, 32% of studios have been operating for 10 years or more, while 45% have been operating for less
than 5 years. In fact, 29% of studios are creating their first game. The increase in the amount of new studios points
towards increased funding support available from both Screen Australia and various state governments. In fact, 49% of
all respondents had received some form of government funding.
This data highlights that the bulk of the industry (79%) are working in smaller studios, employing 20 or less staff
members. The Digital Games Tax Offset (DGTO) only passed into legislation in June 2023 (businesses can retroactively
claim back through to July 2022) with the intention of allowing studios to grow and employ more people. We look
forward to seeing more companies of varying sizes – small, medium, and large across the game development ecosystem
in Australia.
In terms of the DGTO, 51% of respondents intend to utilise the DGTO pending eligibility. Since the announcement of
the DGTO, Australian businesses have been able to create plans to undertake more projects and have also received
increased interest from international businesses.
32% 10 years or older
23% 6-9 years
45% 5 Years or less
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Challenges Facing Australian Game Developers
Despite the positive growth in employment and revenue for Australian game developers, the local sector is still
faced with many challenges, which are also being experienced by game developers across the world as a result of
global economic conditions.
The top 3 challenges facing Australian game developers in FY2023 are:
#1 Hiring employees with specialised skills
#2 Attracting early-stage development funding
#3 Securing international publisher deals
The lack of publishing investment available to developers, not only in Australia but across the world, is likely
to impact expansion and operations in the immediate future. Hopefully the industry can manage global
fluctuations and current support mechanisms available to studios will assist with their progress toward
completing and selling games.
Summary
FY2023 has seen the Australian game development industry continue on its upward trajectory,
underpinned by support and recognition by numerous parties. Regardless of global challenges
currently hitting our shores and likely into 2024, the sector remains cautiously optimistic in continuing
to build capacity and deliver quality games projects to a global audience.
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FA Q
When was the survey undertaken?
Our FY2023 game development survey is based on financial year data from 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023. The survey
opened in September 2023 and closed in the middle of November 2023.
What are the requirements from studios to complete the survey?
We ask that respondents have an ABN and have made or are making games.
Why was the number of studios participating in the survey so small?
Over 400 Australian development studios were contacted multiple times and requested to complete our annual
game development survey.
Participation in the survey is voluntary, with 111 studios completing the survey and providing usable data, which
is a slightly higher participation rate than last year. There is often movement and variance in usable responses,
predominantly from micro-studios.
Who completed the survey?
We are unable to identify the Australian game development studios that completed the 2023 survey. Under our
agreement, Bond University conducted the research on IGEA’s behalf. To preserve the integrity of the data, Bond
University then provided IGEA with aggregated data from the survey without identifiers. Bond University is not
permitted to provide the data to any other party.
How are the state based statistics captured?
IGEA has no control over who completes the questionnaire. This data simply captures those companies that
completed the survey at a point in time. In 2023, companies from all States and Territories submitted responses.
How are the gender based statistics captured?
Commencing in 2021 we changed the way we asked the question around gender after consultation with the
community. Since 2021 the questions have been as follows:
As at 30 June 2023, what was the gender breakdown (how many) by FTE?
Female (cisgender)
Female (transgender)
Male (cisgender)
Male (transgender)
Non-Binary
In previous surveys, we had not included ‘cisgender’ in either the male or female category. Studios answer this question
to the best of their ability within legal and privacy regulations. Respondents report that they do not always have full
information about this data, so answer these questions to the best of their ability.
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IGEA (Interactive Games & Entertainment Association) is the peak industry
association representing the voice of Australian and New Zealand companies in the
computer and video games industry. IGEA supports the business and public policy
interests of the games industry, through advocacy, research and education programs.
We work with many stakeholders including all levels of government, agencies, media
and other trade associations.
IGEA advocates on behalf of our members, who range from one-person studio
startups to larger multinational developers, publishers, platform holders and digital
storefronts. IGEA’s role is to help our members and the wider industry more
effectively create, distribute and sell interactive games, entertainment content and
related hardware.
Through the provision of consistent and frequent industry research and data, along
with communications programs, IGEA promotes the interactive games industry both
locally and abroad. Please visit www.igea.net for further information.
Follow us
/igea.net
@igea
@GCAPConf
Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (IGEA)
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