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SPECIAL REPORT: Stats reveal Australian industry growing at a ‘rapid rate’
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has published a comprehensive survey of the Australian game development market. The data takes a look at the industry between June 2006 to June 2007, examining monies earnt and spent in the development of game products. According to the survey, there are in total 45 businesses in Australia that are involved in the game development industry, employing a total of over 1,400 people. These companies generated a total income of AU$136.9 million, 85.4 per cent of which was attributed to the provision of game development services. 79.1 per cent of this income was earned from overseas sources, and a further 1.2 per cent was received in the form of funding from the Australian government. Breaking down this income in terms of platforms, 71.1 per cent of the income was earnt from games developed for console formats, while 14.6 per cent was accounted to games developed for the PC and Mac and a further 9.6 per cent down to the sales of handheld games. While the industry may have generated AU$136.9 million, total expenses incurred by development studios in the same period came to AU$128.5 million – leaving an operating profit before tax of AU$8.5m, a profit margin of 6.2 per cent. Almost twothirds of these expenses were attributed to labour costs. The survey states that, in total, 1,431 people work in the digital game development business, 89.2 per cent of which were male. Breaking down the figures by job area, 34.1 per cent of those workers are artists or animators, while programmers account for 29.1 per cent of all Australian developers. Managerial and administrative workers made up a further 14.8 per cent of development staff, followed by designers with 9.5 per cent of the employee pool. The statistics also show that the vast majority of workers are permanent full-time employees, making up 92.6 per cent of the work force. Almost 83 per cent of the workforce are based in the states of Queensland and Victoria (48.6 per cent and 33 per cent respectively), and similarly these two states also accounted for approximately 73 per cent of the income generated from game sales. The Game Developers Association of Australia has used the figures to prove that the Australian development industry is growing at a rapid rate. GDAA president Tom Crago said: “We’re seeing year-on-year increases of around 15 per cent, which emphasises both the strength and potential of the industry here in Australia. In an environment where many other industries are contracting, Australian game development is going from strength to strength.” However, the GDAA has also mentioned that due to the exclusion of companies ancilliary to the development of games, such as audio providers, the figures stated in the report are an underestimation of the market’s true value. www.gdaa.com.au
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