Are you a game developer or a visual effects artist looking for a job in the industry? Australia boasts a diverse range of film and video game studios, with job opportunities for both locals and internationals!
With major studios like ILM, Framestore, Animal Logic, and Firemonkeys, Australia is continuing to uphold its position as an integral part of the digital arts industry.
Artists in game development and VFX are busy year-round producing quality films, games, and advertisements for global markets. The projects are diverse and require artists with equally varied skill sets, experience, and backgrounds.
To help you in your job search, we've gathered an alphabetical list of some of the largest CG and digital art studios in Australia. So, when you're ready to apply for your dream job, head to their careers page and send them your best work!
List of film and game production studios in Australia:
1. Alt VFX
About Alt VFX:
Alt VFX is a visual effects and post-production company for film, television, and commercials. An artist-owned and artist-run studio which started in Brisbane in 2011, Alt VFX now has studios across Australia and the world. Their specialties include visual effects, animation, editing, color grading, design, creature design, virtual reality, motion capture, and augmented reality.
Location:
Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney (also Los Angeles and Tokyo)
Notable Credits/Clients:
Honda, Toyota, and NAB
2. Animal Logic
About Animal Logic:
Founded in 1991 at Fox Studios in Sydney, Animal Logic is a creative digital studio that has been producing award-winning design, visual effects, and animation for 30 years. The company employs between 500-1000 staff across its three studios. They were recently acquired by Netflix.
Location:
Sydney (also Vancouver and Los Angeles)
Notable Credits/Clients:
Guardians of the Galaxy, Happy Feet, The Great Gatsby, Peter Rabbit, LEGO movies, The Avengers: Age of Ultron, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Prometheus
3. Big Ant Studios
About Big Ant Studios:
Founded by Ross Symons in 2000, Big Ant Studios is one of Australia's largest game developers with a focus on sports titles, including cricket, rugby, tennis, and racing. Every console title developed by Big Ant Studios has gone on to sell multiple hundred thousand units.
Location:
Melbourne
Notable Credits/Clients:
AO Tennis 2, AO International Tennis, Rugby League Live 4, Cricket 19, Big Bash Boom
4. Blockhead VFX
About Blockhead VFX:
A boutique visual effects and post-production studio (commercials, film, television), Blockhead VFX works with clients all over the globe. They also offer design and augmented reality services.
Location:
Sydney (also Auckland)
Notable Credits/Clients:
I Am Mother, Honda, Audi
5. Cutting Edge Studios
About Cutting Edge Studios:
With over 27 years in the business, Cutting Edge is a visual effects and post-production studio with custom-built facilities located in Sydney, Brisbane, and the Gold Coast. Their key services include reality television technical services, digital design, animation, sound and picture post-production, VFX, and branded communications.
Location:
Sydney and Brisbane
Notable Credits/Clients:
Advil, Toyota, and KFC
6. Fin Design + Effects
About Fin Design:
Established in 2001, Fin is an Australian visual effects and design company employing between 50-200 employees. They specialize in screen replacements, sky replacements, face replacements, digital doubles, luster color grade, experiential media, and logo design.
Location:
Sydney, Melbourne (also Shanghai and Los Angeles)
Notable Credits/Clients:
I Am Mother, Logan, Thor: Ragnarok, Virgin, Mazda, Lenovo
7. Firemonkeys Studios (EA Interactive arm)
About Firemonkeys Studios:
Firemonkeys Studios is an Australian video game developer and publisher of video games based in Melbourne. In May 2011, Electronic Arts acquired Firemonkeys for an undisclosed sum, making it an in-house studio for EA Interactive. They create games for mobile, console, and PC with strong genre experience spanning racing and simulation games.
Location:
Melbourne
Notable Credits/Clients:
The Sims FreePlay, Real Racing 3, The Sims Mobile, Need For Speed No Limits
8. Halfbrick Studios
About Halfbrick Studios:
Halfbrick is an Australian indie video game developer started in 2001 with a team of over 60 game developers. Recently, after many years of developing licensed titles for platforms such as GBA, DS, and PSP, Halfbrick has begun expanding its portfolio with a range of independently released games for downloadable platforms. All of their employees work from their home offices, and they provide full office set-ups.
Location:
Brisbane
Notable Credits/Clients:
Fruit Ninja, Jetpack Joyride
9. Industrial Light & Magic (ILM)
About ILM:
Founded in 1975 by George Lucas, ILM is one of the leading effects facilities in the world — valued at $1 billion. The company serves the motion picture, television, streaming, commercial production, and attraction industries. ILM was acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2012.
Location:
Sydney (also Vancouver, London, San Francisco, and Singapore)
Notable Credits/Clients:
Star Wars, The Mandalorian, Bumblebee, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Avengers: Endgame, Captain Marvel, Aladdin
10. League of Geeks
About League of Geeks:
Calling themselves LoG for short, League of Geeks is a "Triple-i" videogame development studio in Melbourne. They are currently working on a project with Private Division.
Location:
Melbourne
Notable Credits/Clients:
Armello
11. Luma Pictures
About Luma Pictures:
Founded in 2002 by Payam Shohadai and Jonathan R. Beutel, Luma Pictures is a visual effects and animation studio best known for its creatures, environments, and FX. They employ as many as 200 artists worldwide.
Location:
Melbourne (also Santa Monica)
Notable Credits/Clients:
Black Panther, Deadpool, Jojo Rabbit, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Captain Marvel, Aquaman, Ant-Man and the Wasp, The Avengers
12. Framestore (formerly Method/Iloura)
About Framestore Studios:
Boasting over 3000 artists, Framestore is a Bafta and Oscar-award-winning visual effects and post-production studio. They also work on commercials and immersive projects, including VR experiences, digital signage, and theme park attractions. In 2020, Framestore acquired Deluxe Studios which included Company 3 and Method Studios.
Location:
Melbourne (also Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Atlanta, Vancouver, Montreal, Mumbai, Chicago, and London)
Notable Credits/Clients:
Aquaman, Ford v Ferrari, Terminator: Dark Fate, John Wick: Chapter 3: Parabellum, Jumanji: The Next Level, Mad Max Fury Road, Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor: Ragnarok, Iron Man
13. The Mill
About The Mill:
Visual effects and animation studio (film, game trailers, advertising).
Location:
Adelaide (also London, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Berlin)
Notable Credits/Clients:
Audi, Riot Games, EA Sports & Adidas, Apex Legends
14. Mirage VFX
About Mirage VFX:
Mirage VFX is a visual effects and animation studio. As well as their 3D services, Mirage has an in-house Pride-built 9-axis motion control rig shooting studio, Epic camera, stereoscopic color grading suite, and a 300-node render farm. Mirage is backed by Barcelona-based 3D animation firm Vando and caters to clients in Australia and the Asia Pacific.
Location:
Sydney, Singapore, and Bangkok
Notable Credits/Clients:
Lord of the Rings, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Kong, Game of Thrones
15. Plastic Wax
About Plastic Wax:
A multi-platform game studio (cinematics, trailers), Plastic Wax specializes in both pre-rendered and real-time in-engine productions. They focus on animation, motion capture, in-engine technology, virtual production, virtual reality, and game development. They employ between 50-200 artists.
Location:
Sydney, Los Angeles
Notable Credits/Clients:
Hitman 2, Mortal Kombat 11, LEGO DC Villains, Civilization VI, Disney, Epic Games, Microsoft, Sony
16. Resin
About Resin:
Started in 2004 by Grant Lovering and Lincoln Wogan, Resin is a boutique visual effects and animation studio with a specialty in long-form series and feature film visual effects. South Australian Film Corporation’s uncapped 10% post-production rebate from 2017, to attract more large budget and international projects, has been a boon in premium projects.
Location:
Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne
Notable Credits/Clients:
Electric Dreams (Sony), The Tick (Amazon), Tidelands (Netflix), Limitless (CBS), Hunters (SyFy), Storm Boy (Sony), Romper Stomper (Stan)
17. Rising Sun Pictures
About Rising Sun Pictures (RSP):
This visual effects studio is named after the Rising Sun Inn in the Adelaide suburb of Kensington, where its founders first met back in 1995. In 2016, RSP launched a second studio in Sydney and is now home to more than 200 crew. In 2021, it was bought by FuseFX.
Location:
Adelaide, Sydney
Notable Credits/Clients:
Spider-Man: Far From Home, Thor: Ragnarok, Tomb Raider, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Dumbo, The Great Gatsby, Gravity
18. Tantalus Media
About Tantalus Media:
Tantalus Media is an Australian video game developer founded in 1994 by programmers Andrew Bailey and Trevor Nuridin. Since then, Tantalus has developed over 20 games with some of the world's leading publishers. In early 2021, Keywords Studios acquired 85% of Tantalus Media for $46.8 million (USD).
Location:
Melbourne
Notable Credits/Clients:
Age of Empires II, Cities Skylines, Stellaris, Sonic Mania, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
19. Wētā FX
About Wētā FX:
Formerly Weta Digital, this well-known visual effects studio was founded by filmmakers Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor, and Jamie Selkirk in 1993. The company went on to produce some of the highest-grossing films ever made and has won several Academy Awards and BAFTAs. They plan on opening up a Melbourne studio in 2022/23 (watch this space!).
Location:
Melbourne
Notable Credits/Clients:
New Zealand's studio is known for the Lord of the Rings and Avatar franchises, Game of Thrones, Avengers: Endgame, and King Kong
20. Yak and Co
About Yak and Co:
Yak and Co is a small indie game developer of puzzle adventure games. Their game Down in Bermuda debuted as an exclusive launch title for Apple's brand new Arcade subscription gaming service, gaining a 4.5/5 from the TouchArcade before being released on PC & Console.
Location:
Melbourne
Notable Credits/Clients:
Down in Bermuda, Agent A: A Puzzle in Disguise
These are just some of the game and film production studios working on amazing projects in Australia. As you can see, the industry is healthy and robust and hungry for more professionally trained artists.
To help you in your job hunt, check out the following resources:
- How to make a demo reel or portfolio that stands out
- 5 tips to get a job after studying visual effects
- 5 tips to get a job in game design
Kick off your career in VFX and video game production
Whether you want to learn the foundations of visual effects or how to build video games, we've compiled Career Pathways pages where you can learn about the many different jobs in the film and games industry, skills required, salary expectations, and more.
Once you know what role you wish to pursue, find a reputable online course that teaches you the right technical skills and soft skills and offers valuable industry insights from people who work at the studios where you want to apply (like the ones above!).
Gain the right skills to help you land your dream job at one of the top game and VFX studios in Australia!
CG Spectrum is a digital arts school offering visual effects courses including as Houdini FX courses and Nuke compositing courses, as well as courses covering game development to prepare you for an exciting career in the film and games industry.
Courses are run entirely online by skilled industry mentors who have worked on massive projects like Arcane, Avengers: Endgame, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Assassin's Creed.
Become a better artist in less time under your mentor's guidance, and graduate with a professional portfolio/showreel to wow employers!
Related Links
