Curated for the first time by Meena Shamaly, the two-day ACMI conference covers game soundtracks, FMOD deep dives and the business of a game audio career.
Australia’s game audio conference High Score returns to ACMI on 3 and 4 October for its 10th edition, with the full program now out. Composer and ABC Classic Game Show host Meena Shamaly curates for the first time, bringing composers, sound designers and music directors from Australia and overseas to Melbourne International Games Week. The Victorian Music Development Office presents the weekend with Creative Victoria.
Catch up on all the latest news here.
Christopher Larkin opens the weekend in conversation with Shamaly on scoring Hollow Knight: Silksong, one of the most anticipated games in years. Two more sessions dig into standout Australian titles:
- Legacy of the Lamb – the team behind Cult of the Lamb and its Woolhaven expansion finished the music after composer River Boy died during development, building a score they call a “mixtape of his life.”
- Crafting the Perfect Mixtape – former Galvatrons frontman Johnny Galvatron and producer Josh Abrahams pull apart Mixtape, the Australian game where music is the protagonist.
The business of game audio
The Australian Guild of Screen Composers launches its new Games Rate Card in How Much Does Music Cost?, the first indicative guidance on composer fees for local commissions, drawn from survey data gathered late in 2025. Building a Global Career in Game Audio across Asia covers breaking into overseas markets, and Demo Derby puts a handful of composers in front of real briefs from Australian developers for live feedback.
Tools and technique
Two FMOD deep dives show off the Australian-built audio engine. The team behind roguelike Malys explains how they shaped its demonic soundscape, while the Delverium session covers a synthesiser built inside the middleware to handle physics-driven audio. Music director Yoko Honda Gaalaas, whose credits include Bayonetta 3 and Capcom Fighting Collection 2, explains the role that steers a game’s musical identity.
“I’m constantly blown away by the sheer amount of talent and expertise we have in this country and around the world of game audio,” says curator Meena Shamaly. “You could easily fill ten more conferences just from all the possibilities we had this year alone.”
Angharad ‘Rad’ Yeo returns as MC. High Score 2026 runs at ACMI on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 October, with tickets and the full lineup at vmdo.com.au.
