The Dublin-based games studio, Keywords Studios, is set to open 2 new game-development studios in Australia. The company is well-known as a contributor to major digital games including Fortnite, Mortal Kombat and Halo.
Keywords Studio first expanded to Melbourne in late 2020 with an 85% stake in local games developer, Tantalus Media.
Since then, the company has acquired Wicked Witch and Mighty Games. It currently has 170 employees.
On 5 October 2022, the company announced that it would further expand in Australia, with new locations in Brisbane and Adelaide.
Keyword Studios says that new facilities will create jobs for skilled games workers. The company aims to hire 30 new employees.
Service provider to Australia’s booming games industry
Founded in 1998, Dublin-based Keywords Studios provides software engineering, testing and game development services. It has worked with Activision, Tencent, Ubisoft, Microsoft, Sony, Warner Bros and Nintendo.
The company’s 2 new studios in Australia will be known as Tantalus North in Brisbane and Tantalus South in Adelaide.
‘Keywords Studios’ presence in Australia has grown to 5 studios across 3 states,’ says Tom Davies, Head of New Studios & Integration at Keywords in Australia. ‘We are very excited about what our team has achieved already and look forward to an exciting future.’
Financial support for investors
The expansion comes as Australia ups support for its fast-growing digital games industry.
The Australian Government’s Digital Games Tax Offset (DGTO) will offer a refundable tax offset of 30% for eligible games with more than A$500,000 of qualifying expenditure.
The 30% DGTO can be combined with state-based incentives. This means projects may be eligible for incentives worth 40–45% of development costs.
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