Play Now Melbourne is a new international games market, organised by VicScreen, debuting at Melbourne International Games Week in October. Australian game developers, start preparing your pitch decks.
I’m sure a few retro gaming bargain hunters read the headline and sat up in their chairs thinking, “Ooh, a market.” Sorry, it’s not that kind of market. This is an industry market — part networking event, part job fair — designed to give local developers face time with people who can help them get their games made.
According to the press release, Play Now Melbourne will allow local developers to pitch their games to a collection of international publishers, platform holders and investors. Those pitches could create a pathway to striking a distribution deal or even securing funding, both of which would be extremely useful to many studios battling away here in Aus.
Three major publishers — Kepler Interactive (Sifu, Tchia, Scorn), Landfall Games (Totally Accurate Battle Simulator, Haste: Broken Worlds) and Meta (who you may have heard about) have already signed on, with more to be announced as the show approaches.
“Play Now Melbourne is set to catapult the careers of local games makers by connecting them with global decision makers, facilitating business connections and helping to secure deals,” said Minister for Creative Industries Steve Dimopoulos in a quote from the press release. “Victoria is a games leader and that’s a reputation we’re committed to growing for years to come through initiatives like Play Now Melbourne, an exciting addition to our already jam-packed MIGW calendar.”
VicScreen is clear about its ambitions. The press release states that Play Now will put Victoria on the games industry’s trade events calendar “alongside the likes of Gamescom and GDC”, which is certainly planting a big, bold flag. These are huge events, places where A Lot Of Business Gets Done. I can’t imagine Play Now will compete with either of them for scale and scope, but it could be a lightning rod for the local industry if it works.
“Play Now Melbourne will set a new precedent for a thriving game development ecosystem, propelling Melbourne International Games Week onto the global stage,” said Massive Monster creative director Julian Wilton (Cult of the Lamb) in the press release. “By fostering connections between developers and key stakeholders from the realms of funding, publishing, and storefronts, this groundbreaking initiative empowers developers to establish and sustain robust game development enterprises, significantly enhancing their prospects for success.”
Developers and studios interested in participating can drop in an expression of interest via the VicScreen website.
Play Now Melbourne will be held on October 5, 2023 at the State Library of Victoria.
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