Renowned global games development company Keywords Studios PLC is redoubling its investment in Victoria, establishing its first Centre of Excellence for autonomous testing and quality assurance in Melbourne.
In July 2021, the Dublin-headquartered company established its Australian presence in Fitzroy and Keywords Studios will set up its Centre of Excellence in the same suburb, creating 100 jobs and new opportunities for its existing workforce of more than 120 people.
The Centre of Excellence will turbo-charge Victoria’s burgeoning games development industry using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technology attained through its acquisition of Mighty Games, a Melbourne-based developer. The technology expedites testing of user choices and actions in games, websites and software.
Victoria is currently hosting Melbourne International Games Week, the largest professional and consumer games congregation in the Asia Pacific.
According to Australia’s peak body for games, the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association, Victoria is the nation’s digital games leader and is home to more than 170 studios, representing greater than 55 per cent of Australia’s digital games workforce.
Keywords Studios’ investment demonstrates the effectiveness of the Andrews Labor Government’s International Investment Strategy in attracting global companies from growth industries to create jobs and boost innovation, and reflects its long-standing support for growth of the games industry.
With more than 12,000 employees in 26 countries, Keywords Studios partners with video games companies to deliver end-to-end game development services across iconic titles such as Fortnite, Mortal Kombat, League of Legends and Halo.
The company enjoys successful collaborations with Activision, Tencent, Riot Games, Ubisoft, Iron Source, Microsoft, Sony, Epic Games, Bethesda, Warner Bros, Electronic Arts and Nintendo.
As stated by Minister for Economic Development Tim Pallas
“Melbourne is a centre of tech excellence, a fact that is both underlined and enhanced by the investments being made by global leaders like Keywords Studios.”
“We’ll continue to back growth in key sectors that create great jobs and expand our innovation landscape.”
As stated by Minister for Creative Industries Steve Dimopoulos
“Our games industry has developed at a rate that shows no sign of slowing and that’s great news for developers, programmers, designers, producers and animators and young people planning their careers.”
As stated by Keywords Studios Australia chief executive Tom Crago
“Keywords continues to grow its business rapidly in Victoria. We are thrilled to welcome Mighty Games to our group and to establish this Centre of Excellence on the back of its world-leading technology.”