A global powerhouse behind some of the most iconic video games enjoyed by millions around the world, such as Fortnite, Mortal Kombat, League of Legends and Halo, has chosen Melbourne for its Australian base.
Keywords Studios will establish its Australian Headquarters and Development Studio in Melbourne, drawing on Victoria’s deep creative talent pool, including games developers, graphic artists, and designers.
The attraction of Keywords Studios follows the launch of VICSCREEN, a $120.7 million strategy to reshape Victoria into a global powerhouse for screen across games, film, television and online content.
The strategy includes Film Victoria’s Victorian Screen Incentive to attract major international games projects to the state alongside investment in local games projects.
Commenting on the investment, Tom Crago, CEO of Tantalus Media Pty Ltd and CEO of Keywords Australia Pty Ltd said, “We have ambitious plans to grow our business in Victoria, and it’s exciting to partner with a government that is as inspired by the games industry as we are.
“Victoria rightly has a place on the global game development stage. We’d like to see that star rise further still, and this initiative sets us up for success both at home and around the globe.”
Founded in 1998, the Dublin-HQed company provides services including software engineering, testing and game development, primarily to the AUD$239.5 billion global gaming industry.
Keywords Studios has a presence in Asia, the Americas and Europe and operates over 65 studios in 22 countries, employing more than 9,000 people globally. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
It is best known for its highly successful collaborations with global market leaders such as Activision, Tencent, Riot Games, Ubisoft, Iron Source, Microsoft, Sony, Epic Games, Bethesda, Warner Bros, Electronic Arts and Nintendo.
Keywords Studios recently acquired an 85 per cent stake in Melbourne-based multi award winning game developer Tantalus Media Pty Ltd. The two companies have formed a joint venture company, Keywords Australia Pty Ltd, and will continue co-production and collaboration in Australia, overseen by Tantalus’ founder, Tom Crago.
Melbourne boasts more than half of Australia’s game industry, including home grown studios Hipster Whale, House House, Playside Studios and Zero Latency, and has attracted global powerhouses such as Firemonkey EA and Sledgehammer Games.
Victoria produces more than 1,000 graduates a year in the key gaming disciplines of programming, animation, multimedia design, digital art, and design.
Read more about Victoria’s digital games sector.
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Image: CEO of Keywords Australia Pty Ltd and Tantalus Media Pty Ltd, Tom Crago
