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#A look at Australia’s most influential game developers

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“#A look at Australia’s most influential game developers”
Playing games is serious business these days. The gaming industry is worth more than $150 billion worldwide. That’s even more impressive when you bear in mind that the movie industry celebrated hitting $100 billion in 2019 (obviously it was considerably lower last year, given the broader circumstances).

Gaming features some huge corporations, like EA Sport and Rockstar Games, the companies behind FIFA and Grand Theft Auto respectively. But once you get past them, it’s not all big American brands dominating the industry. In fact, there are highly influential and successful development studios all over the world.

Australia is a case in point. It might not have a famous history of big tech businesses, but it is turning into a centre of excellence in the new world of gaming. Let’s take a look at some of the companies that are leading the way.

Hipster Whale

Gaming might bring connotations of consoles and PCs, but in the world of the 2020s, it’s all about mobile. That’s something that the people at Hipster Whale cottoned on to way back in 2014, when the true potential of smartphones was just starting to be understood. The company has carved a niche out of reinventing arcade classics for the mobile age. Their best-known title is Crossy Road, which scored an incredible 50 million downloads in its first three months. Those of us of a certain age will recognise the similarity with Frogger from the 1980s. The company has also brought out modern takes on Pac Man and other timeless classics.

Reel Time Gaming

Casino gaming by mobile is one of the fastest-growing sub-genres and is particularly popular in Australia, where the love of a wager is the stuff of legends. There’s constant change and innovation, from VR to live tables to skill-based bonus games. There’s also an insatiable appetite for new games, and Reel Time Gaming is right at the forefront. Fishin’ Frenzy is probably their most famous title, although others, such as Eye of Horus and Fruitinator are also common sights on casino platforms across the world.

Krome Studios

This Brisbane-based developer has been around since the late 1990s. It is best known for rebooting the much-loved Spyro the Dragon series. This is another developer that has been quick to react to evolving technology. Originally, the focus was squarely on console games, but as early as 2010, Krome started to create games for mobile platforms, starting with simple offerings for the Windows Phone and rapidly moving across to iOS and Android as the smartphone era gathered pace.

SMG Studio

Sydney-based SMG was one of ten companies that received seed funding from Screen Australia’s Game Enterprise initiative in 2013. Eight years later, it can boast having produced some of the most popular and addictive mobile games. Thumb Drift, released in 2016, spent time at the top of the download charts, while Death Squared and last year’s Moving Out have also been widely praised by the global gaming press.

The post A look at Australia’s most influential game developers appeared first on Spiel Times.

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