11 GAMES COMPANIES SHARE IN $500,000 FUND

Written By Peter Karidis

SA Digital Games Fund Signals New Creative-Technology Industry Pathway

South Australia’s creative technology sector has received a targeted boost, with the South Australian Film Corporation announcing $500,000 in funding for 11 local video game projects through its new Digital Games Fund.

The SAFC says the fund is designed to support original South Australian games, help local studios grow and increase the number of South Australian video games reaching the global marketplace. The funding announcement is also supported by the creation of a new Games Industry Advisory Group.

InDaily reports that this is the biggest single tranche of games funding in SAFC history and identifies funded projects including Life, Death and Ramen, Pro Jank Footy, TOYA., Pipsqueak!, Delphinium and End of Ember.

The significance goes beyond the funding amount. Digital games sit at the intersection of software development, design, animation, storytelling, music, artificial intelligence, user experience, digital distribution and intellectual property commercialisation.

For South Australia, this creates a potential pathway for industry diversification, talent retention and exportable creative products.

Successful Developers & Projects:

  • The Troll & the Witch’s House by Little Bandit – solo developer Ditte Wad-Andersen
    A fun point-and-click adventure and puzzle game where you play as a troll trapped in a strange house filled with mysteries. Winner SAGE Best in Exhibition 2026.

  • Yakshini Lokam by Soft Magnets – lead developer Orlando Mee
    A whimsical turn-based action-adventure where you play as a family of four magically transported from Hyderabad, India to battle against a kingdom of magical creatures.

  • Life, Death and Ramen by We Made a Thing Studios – lead developers Jeremy Kelly-Bakker and Tom Phillips
    You and your helpers, the Ramenlings, run a ramen truck on an alien planet, cooking by day and avoiding monsters by night.

  • Pro Jank Footy by Powerbomb Games – lead developers David Ashby and Tyler Roach
    A fun Australian rules football game fusing action-packed retro arcade-style gameplay with absurd Aussie humour. Winner SAGE Best in Exhibition 2025.

  • TOYA. by The RnD Department – lead developers Rupert McPharlin and Daniel D’Cruz
    A minimalist puzzle game where you guide a colourful cube through an evolving abstract landscape, with music from former Cirque du Soleil musician Chris Norton. Winner SAGE Elevate Award 2025.

  • Pipsqueak! by Pond Games – lead developer Daniel Freer
    A 2D action platformer starring Tofu, a tiny mouse exploring a strange and hostile world.

  • Delphinium by Cinnadev – lead developer Heidi Borge
    A story-driven farming simulator in which cultivating connections with those around you matters just as much as growing your crops.

  • One Pop Planet by Mauii Makes Games – solo developer Lyndon Cullen-Reid
    Match the pieces as they fall in this fun puzzle game.

  • End of Ember by Bad Plan Studios – lead developers Chad Habel and Daniel McGuiness
    Kill demons and fight weird and gross bosses in this totally unhinged game that pays homage to horror movie franchises.

  • Photo Roboto by Monomyth Games – lead developers Quincy Geary and Tristram Geary
    Use your Timewarp Camera to help Peppino the Roboto run his photography business, explore the island of Pallacanezza, and solve the Mysterious Curse!

  • Peppermint by Cowboy Fish – solo developer Samara Kelly
    Play as Pepper Mint as she battles her way through a melting candy world in this cute, sweet and macabre action-adventure game.

What This Means:

The games sector should not be dismissed as a niche creative industry. Globally, games are part of a much larger digital economy that includes simulation, immersive environments, education technology, defence training, health applications, digital twins and interactive storytelling.

For South Australia, a stronger games ecosystem can support:

  • Young talent retention

  • Studio formation

  • Exportable IP

  • Links with screen production

  • Links with defence simulation and training

  • Links with digital twin and visualisation capability

  • Cross-sector design and software skills

This is particularly relevant for a state seeking to build depth in defence, advanced manufacturing, creative industries and digital infrastructure.

Resilience Lens:

Economic resilience improves when a region has more than one growth pathway. Defence, mining, tourism, education and construction remain important, but digital creative industries add a different form of resilience: low physical export friction, global market access and scalable intellectual property.

The policy challenge is to move from project-by-project grants to an ecosystem model that supports skills, studios, publishing pathways, investment attraction and commercialisation.

For C4R - CENTRE FOR RESILIENCE, this is an early-stage industry signal worth monitoring.

Sources:

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Peter Karidis
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