☆ﾟ. * ･ ｡ﾟ FREEPLAY FOREVER ☆*:・ﾟ
hello. It’s us. The Freeplay board of 2026: Chloe, James, Joel, Tay, Travis, Arieh, Darcy, Amelia, Pete, and Andrea.
We are here to tell you that Freeplay is here to stay and that Parallels will be running in 2026.
A while back we put out a statement letting you know about our Creative Victoria grant outcome.
Friends, we were scared.
Creative Victoria’s decision not to support ANY games-related organisations was a momentum hit. Not only does it force us to reformat how we work at Freeplay, it also articulates a step back for the wider industry. As an independent, respected and clearly beloved organisation, we feel a deep responsibility to support artists, creators, curators and directors, and that includes via financial compensation. It was hard to see how we could both stick to our values and move Freeplay forward.
The loss of ongoing funding meant we had to say goodbye to our phenomenal co-directors, Mads Mackenzie and Louie Roots. Their ambitious, creative vision for Freeplay since 2023 reinvigorated independent and experimental gamemaking communities in the return to in-person events in Australia. We’re grateful for how they shaped Freeplay and thank them for the amazing leadership they provided.
In the face of these losses, we were honest—we let you know where we were at. And we asked where you were at. And man-oh-man—you turned up and told us!! Thank you for showing up and sharing what Freeplay means to you.
We received a heap of responses to the survey and the overwhelming response was that OF COURSE Freeplay should keep going. All this, plus the outpouring of messages and posts across socials, blogs and media outlets, served to remind us of Freeplay’s incredible legacy and galvanise our sense of who we are.
We are FREEPLAY and we exist to:
❤ Champion games as art
❤ Platform diverse and emerging creators
❤ Build spaces that bridge art communities & disciplines
❤ Celebrate playfulness
Those are our drivers. And we want to keep doing them forever, if we can.
Knowing how to define ourselves for the next five or ten years, however, is hard to do. But maybe we don’t have to, because the answer is already behind us. It’s in our DNA. Our legacy. Freeplay is creativity and fluidity—historically moulding and shifting to provide the Australian gamemaking community with what it needs. Those needs have changed throughout our 20+ year history and will continue to do so. And so will we.
So how are we going to keep the wheels spinning exactly? This is the plan:
✦ Run a killer Parallels 2026
The feedback we got last Parallels made it clear that you feel it’s important to keep doing it. Why?
Because:
- Art Matters - in a world where the economic case for games is valued politically far more than the artistic, the work Freeplay does of positioning and championing games as art is vital.
- The Future is Bright - events like Parallels bring together our community, strengthening decades-old bonds and forging new ones between creative minds from games and beyond. Parallels provides a bright spot of hope and togetherness in a difficult gamemaking landscape. Unearthing games so weird you never dreamed they could exist, yet somehow resonate so deeply, is an important reminder of the infinite possibility of collaboration and creativity to inspire us and solve problems.
- Honour Legacy - Freeplay has persisted in hostile economic conditions before and we will do it again. By continuing to show up, we reinforce a sense of continuity and history that makes the Australian games space what it is. Curating and showcasing weird, independent games for over 20 years is something worth celebrating.
To make Parallels 2026 possible, the board is moving from advisory to active, taking over (almost) all the jobs needed to deliver Parallels 2026 as volunteers, and hiring amazing (paid) collaborators to help fill the gaps!! More to come soon.
Here’s a venue teaser: WE’VE BEEN THERE BEFORE
Want to be in Parallels 2026? Got a game cooking? Is it brilliant, bizarre, personal, half‑finished, freaky or held together with duct tape? Our official call‑out is coming soon—stay tuned.
✦ Advocate for games as art
If the government doesn’t think games are worth funding as art, let’s remind them that they bloody-well are!
Freeplay will be making a submission to the National Cultural Policy (NCP) and we’re keen to team up with anyone else who feels that advocating for games from an arts practice position is important. The NCP is the federal arts department’s document that determines how arts funding is allocated in the 2026-2030 budget in Australia. It’s how the current Screen Australia games funding was allocated via the 2022-2026 policy and budget. And it’s really important that the government hears from gamemakers to inform how they spend money next. Submissions close 24 May 2026.
That gives us just six weeks to pull together an entire arts policy proposal for games. This is our last chance for three years to get this right.
Can you lend us your voice and strengthen the submission? Contact us ASAP to get involved.
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THANK YOU FOR HELPING REMIND US OF WHO WE ARE.
Much love and more to come soon xx