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South Australian video game talent goes global as six local studios selected to showcase at Gamescom 2025

14 August 2025

South Australian video game developers will be centre stage at the world’s largest digital games conference next week with six local studios selected to exhibit at Gamescom 2025 as part of the South Australian Film Corporation’s (SAFC) South Australian games showcase.

Held annually in Cologne, Germany, Gamescom (20-24 August) is the world’s largest and most influential video game trade fair, attracting more than 300,000 attendees from around the globe including publishers, distributors, gamers and international media.

In partnership with the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA), and supported by CreateSA, the SAFC is supercharging the South Australian presence at Gamescom 2025, leading a delegation of eight SA game developers from six studios to showcase their work in a dedicated South Australian exhibition stand at the event.

The selected South Australian studios and developers travelling to Gamescom 2025, and their games, are:

• Towerpoint Games – Sean Dee and Emma Waters
  Game: Anvilheart
  In this story-driven blacksmithing game players heat, hammer, shape and grind workpieces into useful weapons and tools for their townspeople and watch as the decisions they make in crafting change the lives of their customers, and the fate of the town.
  
• Mental Jam – Emma Losin
  Game: Bobarista
  Play as a wombat-turned-barista working at a magical bubble tea truck nestled on a quiet mountainside. Meet a diverse cast of visitors, each carrying their own struggles and a heart in need of mending. Serve soothing drinks, share heartfelt conversations and uncover their tales – and perhaps, find a piece of yourself along the way.
  
• Royal Reign Studios – Jacob von Appen
  Game: Castle Cab
  Play as an indestructible horse on a chaotic medieval island, delivering goods, exploring towns and causing light-hearted destruction. Developed for Nintendo Switch, players follow a charming story packed with quirky side quests – from helping farmers harvest crops, to overthrowing the monarchy and defending the realm from impending doom.
  
• The RND Department – Rupert McPharlin
  Game: TOYA (formerly known as CUBE)
  A unique puzzle platformer where players control a lively cube that moves by rolling around in an abstract, blocky world, navigating intricate levels filled with environmental puzzles and obstacles. Winner of the SAGE Elevate Award 2025.
  
• Bad Plan Studios – Chad Habel and Daniel McGuiness
  Game: End of Ember
  Join Ember as she is accidentally sent to Hell on her birthday, forms an unlikely alliance with a sentient chainsaw and faces off against a bewildering array of weird and gross demons. With a horror-comedy DNA and drawing on 2000s internet pop culture, End of Ember is super cute, super gory, and totally unhinged.
  
• Two Lives Left – John Millard
  Game: Kaiju Battle Simulator
  A physics-driven VR sandbox that lets players pilot a giant mech to battle towering kaiju (giant monsters) in fully destructible cities. Armed with rocket hammers, plasma cannons, and drones, players creatively dismantle monsters while the environment crumbles around them, delivering a joyful, chaotic playground of combat and destruction.
  

Forming part of IGEA’s “Australian Pavilion”, the South Australian stand will provide a high-profile exhibition and meeting space for the delegation of SA game developers in the central business area of the conference, drawing attention to SA games IP in the global market.

The stand will also provide an international showcase for the SAFC’s hugely successful SAGE: SA Game Exhibition event, which this year saw a record 3,000 plus people attend Adelaide Studios over two days to play and experience the best in South Australian-made video games. With SAGE heading into its fourth exciting year in 2026, exposure at Gamescom will help generate global interest and awareness in the event and the SA games sector, increasing opportunities for international marketplace involvement in the popular expo.

Minister for Arts Andrea Michaels MP said: “South Australia has a rapidly growing game sector and the Malinauskas Government continues to support our local industry to develop new games and market these to the world.

“This is an incredibly exciting industry and the exhibition at Gamescom is an opportunity to showcase South Australia’s talented gamers and for them to meet with international publishers at the largest video game event in the world.”

SAFC CEO Kate Croser said: “The SAFC is thrilled to be partnering with IGEA to provide this exciting opportunity for South Australian game developers to showcase their work on the world stage and connect with the global games market at Gamescom 2025.

“One of the aims of the delegation is to enable SA game developers and studios to meet international publishers and attract development funding, which are key challenges for Australian game developers. We are also delighted to be exposing international audiences and market players to the SAFC’s hugely popular SAGE: SA Game Exhibition, which has grown year on year to become the state’s biggest and most exciting video games event.

“I congratulate all the selected teams and look forward to seeing their games enjoy an international platform at this global gaming event. The SAFC also thanks CreateSA for making this opportunity possible for SA games businesses to grow and attract investment to the state.”

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