Australian Games market is still strong despite COVID-19

IGEA, a commerce physique, has lately reported that the Australian video games business has not solely remained secure via the previous 12 months, it has seen some ranges of development. This ought to be no shock given how properly video games offered in 2020, and what number of new individuals got here to take pleasure in video games {hardware} to stay entertained throughout the pandemic.

In keeping with the report, 62 % of the surveyed studios reported elevated or secure income via the final yr. When requested the yr earlier than, solely 33 % of the surveyed corporations mentioned the identical.

63 % of all these studios mentioned that they’d plans to extend in employees within the short-term, with solely 4 % of them planning redundancies. This speaks volumes as to how properly the business has executed, although there’s nonetheless some room for enchancment.

31 % of these surveyed truly reported a loss in contractual income over the past yr, and 61 % added that they had been impacted negatively because of journey restrictions and an incapability to journey in some circumstances. The problems vary from lack of funding because of conferences being missed or an incapability to speak remotely, to contracts merely being terminated.

Work practises had additionally been impacted. 50 % of respondents mentioned that they’d been moved to working remotely, and that this had impacted how productive they’re. 10 % mentioned that their productiveness had been considerably impacted. This distinction shall be right down to which corporations had been set as much as work remotely already, and which might by no means have accepted it earlier than COVID-19.

60 % of the studios surveyed now have a hybrid mannequin of employees working remotely and within the workplace with a wholesome steadiness. This helped studios rent exterior of their regular radius. 33 % of corporations employed from out of state, and 28 % from abroad. That is mirrored all over the world, with many studios now hiring expertise the place they’ll discover it, as an alternative of insisting on employees having the ability to come into the workplace each single day.

The Australian video games business lately acquired some excellent news from the federal government, with a 30 % tax reduction for the video games business, the primary for the business ever.