GDAA calls out to federal government

The Game Developers Association of Australia (GDAA) announced today that it would again petition the Australian federal government for a rebate on games developed locally. The GDAA claims that such a rebate would enable Australian-based studios to reduce development costs, which would attract more international publishers to start projects down under.

Currently plans for the Australian film industry to receive a 40 percent government rebate on the cost of films developed in Australia are being finalised. Greg Bondar, CEO of the GDAA, hopes the same scheme can be put in place for the Australian games industry. "Based on our current industry standing and projected earnings, we conservatively estimate that if a 40 percent rebate was extended to game developers in Australia, this would lead to an additional $A25 million in new investment into original Australian titles each year," Bondar said.

The Canadian and Chinese governments offer similar rebates and the number of games coming out of those two countries is increasing. Assassins Creed, Far Cry 2 and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction are just a few of the titles set to come out of Canada in the next 12 months, whilst China can add Gears of War to the list of titles it has shipped.

It's estimated that the Australian games industry employs around 8,500 people. If a rebate scheme is instigated, the GDAA expects that number would increase to 18,000 by 2010.