The Academy of Interactive Entertainment Ltd (AIE), owner of the Australian Game Developers Conference (AGDC), has axed the seven-year-old games industry event after the Game Developers Association of Australia (GDAA) withdrew its support.

The AIE is a non-profit educational institution for games art and development and arguably the most prestigious school in Australia for budding game development talent. The institution is also the founder of the GDAA, the peak industry body.

"The GDAA recently informed the AIE that it no longer wishes to support the AGDC and that it wishes to run its own industry conference" said John De Margheriti, chairman of the AIE and founder of independent game development studio Micro Fort.
"While this came as a surprise, we can understand the GDAA's desire to want to build a new conference largely modelled on what we have created, and have greater control of its destiny. The AIE is very proud of what it has achieved. We have provided through our two educational campuses in Canberra and Melbourne, opportunities for thousands of students and are extremely proud that AGDC has become the flagship premier industry Conference."

Mr De Margheriti said that the AIE had decided not to compete with the GDAA in the best interests of the industry.

AGDC has helped bind the Australian game developer community and our decision to stand down marks the end of an era. While some have suggested for us to simply ignore the GDAA or sell the AGDC, this is not in the best interest of our industry. As the founder of the GDAA, I feel that it蓒s in the best interest of our local industry for the AIE to simply stop running the AGDC and to allow the GDAA the freedom of no competition so it can establish its own industry conference.

The AIE remains supportive of the GDAA's goals and encourages all past and present sponsors of AGDC to get behind the new conference that the GDAA is planning. I would also urge for new game companies to join the GDAA and for a new breed of CEOs to participate in the growth of the Australian games industry through its industry association.Ӕ