Three digital games studios from Sydney will travel to Germany this month as part of the Australian stand at the world’s largest gaming event, Gamescom 2023.
Chaos Theory Games, Epiphany Games and Sweaty Chair will join 1,100 international businesses for the first time to exhibit at the week-long event from August 21.
Selected by the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (IGEA) and supported by Screen NSW, the NSW team will attend Europe’s leading trade fair for the games industry from August 21.
With cosplay events, e-sports tournaments, congress panels and a developer conference, the annual event is expected to attract more than 250,000 visitors to Cologne.
Each year since 2009, the world’s biggest and smallest players meet on-site or digitally to network – think special reveals, exclusive industry news and game premieres.
NSW Arts Minister John Graham today officially launched IGEA’s Australia Plays 2023 research paper, authored by Professor Jeremy Brand, into our love affair with digital games.
NSW Arts Minister John Graham said:
“Almost one in five of Australia’s digital games workforce is based in NSW, contributing $136.1m to the state economy.
“The sector is as much about creative expression, graphic design, computer engineering, musical composition, and performance as it is about the fun it gives to a huge audience.
“This will be an unforgettable experience for each of the NSW studios who will get the chance to make valuable contacts and discover the latest in gaming technology and innovation to help grow their business.”
Chaos Theory Games Executive Creative Director Nico King said:
“We are looking to grow the original IP side of our business and see Gamescom as a vital platform to help achieve this.
“We recently launched our first original IP, Crab God: Mother of the Tide, so want to connect with players, partners, and publishers at Gamescom. We also have an unannounced VR game that we will be showing to publishers and platform holders.
“We are dedicated to showcasing how games can serve as a vehicle for meaningful change and hope to inspire others to join us in our mission.”
Epiphany Games CEO Morgan Lead said:
“Australia is geographically isolated so for small studios like ours this is one of the key marketing and engagement activities of the year.
“We have a skilled team working hard on our new titles with plans to grow further and double our revenue.
“By attending Gamescom we can introduce our new game to a large number of people, receive feedback and further deepen ties with publishers and partners from around the globe.”
Sweaty Chair CEO Brian Zou said:
“We cannot wait to introduce our new game that we are working on with MasterTingus and promoting Australian talent to a global stage.
“We want to create deeper ties within the industry, understand the market better, seek out funding and find out more collaboration opportunities in Europe.”