Industry Snapshot 2025: Australian Game Development

The Industry Snapshot 2025 provides an overview of Australian game development for the 2024–25 financial year, drawing on a voluntary survey of studios conducted by Bond University. Of the more than 600 studios invited, 141 returned usable responses, an increase of 11% in participation over the previous year. The findings characterize an industry generating roughly $608.5 million in income across an estimated 243 studios, with the survey data covering the financial year running from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025.

The industry is heavily export-oriented, with 95% of revenue originating from outside Australia. Workforce figures include full-time equivalents and contractors, and the largest role categories are programmers and engineers, followed by artists, designers, and producers, with quality assurance, narrative, and audio roles also represented. Studios report planning over 400 new hires in the coming year, with 53% of studios expecting to recruit staff. Employment is concentrated in New South Wales and Victoria, which together account for over half of studios and employees, while Queensland, Western Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory host smaller shares. Ten percent of studios work entirely remotely.

Gender composition shows that 72% of workers identify as cisgender male, 24% as cisgender female, and 4% as trans, non-binary, or gender diverse. Respondents identified securing local and international publisher deals, attracting early-stage development funding, and accessing state and territory government funding as their most significant challenges. The survey's voluntary nature and modest response rate relative to the invited population are relevant considerations when interpreting these results.