The Australian government plans to shut down the Australian Interactive Games Fund on July 1st, reneging on its pledge to bolster Australia’s game industry by pouring $20 million in federal funds into the sector to fund local game development. Half of that money has already been distributed to Australian game developers via Screen Australia, the Australian government’s organization for funding the screen production industry — including game development. The remaining $10 million will be repurposed to “repair the Budget and fund policy priorities,” according to the Australian government’s recently published 2014-2015 federal budget proposal. No formal announcement has yet been made about how this will affect Australian developers who are currently receiving government funding, or what will happen to Screen Australia’s game development programs going forward. The news was first brought to our attention by No Goblin co-founder Dan Teasdale, who is currently working in the U.S. on the revolving chauffeur simulator Roundabout.
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2014