After many studio closures, QLD has a ‘stronger foundation’ than 2009

Mark Fludder from the Information Industries Bureau in Queensland, talked to MCV recently about the aftermath of the state’s high profile dev closures.

Auran (Trainz, Fury and Dark Reign) and Pandemic (The Saboteur) both closed their doors in the last few years, with Krome Studios remaining in existence but shedding almost all of its staff.

Fludder comments: "The closure of these studios need to be considered in the context of the changes occuring in the industry as a whole. The rise of digital distribution, mobile gaming and platforms such as PSN and XBLA put a lot of pressure on that market segment. Circumstances such as the Global Financial Crisis and rising Australian dollar meant Krome never got to fully explore those opportunities."

"Queensland’s studios are better suited to small teams working on multiple projects with shortened development cycles, as evidenced by our relative strength in the development of handheld and mobile games over the past 5 years."

"While it is true that the total number of people working directly in the development of games in Queensland has dropped over the past 12 months, I believe the industry has a stronger foundation today than it did in 2009."

Independent studios currently operating in Queensland include Halfbrick Studios, The Binary Mill, N3V Games, Three Blokes and Defiant Developments.

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