Revenue from games developed in Australia rose by 21% year-over-year to $345.5 million AUD in FY 2023.

That’s according to a report from games industry body Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA), which shows the number of full-time employees in Australian game development studios also increased by 17% to 2,458.

The survey also shows that 63% of studios are planning to hire new staff in FY 2024 while 68% are predicting income growth over the next year. Meanwhile, of the games developed in Australia, 87% of revenue from these titles comes from outside Australia.

Employee growth and challenges

The IGEA's survey found that 35% of employees in the Aussie games industry are programmers and engineers, while 28% are artists. Cisgender males lead in terms of gender diversity, with 69% of programmers/engineers being male, 26% being female and 5% being transgender, non-binary or gender-diverse workers.

In terms of studio output, 29% of respondents were developing their first game, while 23% have made more than 10 games, suggesting a mix of new and experienced studios in the industry.

The majority of game developers in Aussie are based in the Eastern states and in capital cities, with Victoria having the highest number of studio locations (29%) and full-time employees (41%).

Of the respondents surveyed, 79% said they have studios with less than 20 employees.

Despite the positive growth, the survey found that the local sector continues to struggle with several challenges as a result of poor global economic conditions.

The top three challenges facing Australian game developers include hiring employees with specialist skills, finding early-stage development funding and landing international publisher deals.

You can read the full report here.