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The space

Welcome to MASSa place where indie game devs will find a space to work, collaborate and build a community

A blank screen. A rough idea. A world that doesn’t exist yet. Every game starts in the same place. Nothing.

An idea takes an afternoon. A finished game takes years. Most games never make it that far. Making things on your own is hard, rent is high, and runway runs out. That’s what MASS is for.

A heritage warehouse in Collingwood, rebuilt for the way games actually get made. Studios that last make better games, so we keep rent low, bring in people who’ve shipped, and put work in front of real players.

Melbourne’s game makers, pulled into the same room. Gravity does the rest. Together we create.

Who’s in the room

Founding residents

Membership is by application, so the best way to know if MASS is for you is to see who’s already here.

The void called
We built MASS

Born from Massive Monster, the studio behind Cult of the Lamb.

We believe in what happens when like-minded creatives share a room. Melbourne needed one.

We wanted a space that treats game development as the serious, professional, creative industry it is. So we called in Flack Studios and built it our way.

Principal Government Partner VicScreen.

How MASS is funded

We think it’s worth being open about where the money came from. In round numbers:

What it cost · about $12.5m

  • $8mBuying the buildingplus stamp duty and costs
  • $4.5mFit-outthe Fort, the Sound Lab, the VR Room, the Bleachers

Where it came from · about $12.5m

  • $10.5m (84%)Massive Monsterfrom Cult of the Lamb
  • $2m (16%)VicScreenVictorian Government

MASS exists because Massive Monster put what one game earned into a place for the next ones.

We believe in the long term. That’s why we wanted a building of our own, one that isn’t beholden to landlords, pandemics or anyone else’s money. Built to last.

Where your money goes

A desk at MASS is a share in the building, and the building has bills. This is what a full year looks like once the room is 90% full, in round numbers.

For every $100 that comes in

  • $51The building subsidised rent, interest on the fit-out loan, council rates, land tax and owners corp fees
  • $20The people who run it general manager, cover, mentors
  • $10Keeping the lights on power, internet, cleaning, insurance, car park levy
  • $5Admin, software, events accounting, payments, the tools that run the place
  • $2Pay the Rent and contingency Pay the Rent goes to First Nations organisations. The rest is a buffer
  • $12Back into MASS kit, events, and keeping desks cheap

Forecast for a full year at 90% occupancy, about $762k in. Rounded.

We run MASS as a business that’s built to last. The goal isn’t profit. The goal is affordable desks in a building that’s ours.

We know funding ebbs and flows, and that some years it’s easier to work from the garage. Keeping desks affordable is how we help keep your studio going.

Here’s the maths. A building like this would rent for around half a million a year. Full, MASS makes about that much before rent. So the whole space, at its best, roughly covers what the rent would have been. The rest is Massive Monster’s contribution: the fit-out up front, and half the rent, every year.

What you’ll find in this space.

  • Desks

    Flex desks in the shared rooms, or a dedicated one that’s yours. Natural light either way.

  • Fast internet

    1,000 up, 1,000 down. Push a build without making a coffee first.

  • The Meeting Hall

    The big room. Publisher calls, board meetings, playtest debriefs.

  • The Mega Lounge

    Couches and a big screen. Decompress, or talk someone through a build.

  • The Fort

    Dedicated rooms for teams of six to eight, on longer terms.

  • The Diner

    A full kitchen and one long table. Lunch together is half the point.

  • Meeting rooms

    Smaller rooms for two to eight people.

  • Streaming Room

    Camera, mics and lights for streams, podcasts and trailers.

  • The River Boy Sound Lab

    Soundproofed for recording music and voice.

  • VR & Mocap Room

    Headsets and clear floor for VR builds and motion capture.

  • Print Room

    A large A4/A3 colour laser printer and stationery.

  • Escape Pods

    Soundproofed, powered pods for calls and heads-down work. One accessible.

  • The Library

    Books, board games, a game library and consoles.

  • Places to hide

    Back lane, escape door, a locker area, and other secret places.

  • Everyone welcome

    Accessible building, no egos, no exceptions.

  • The Bleachers

    Tiered seating for talks, screenings and playtests. Monthly events with speakers.

  • Dog friendly

    Good dogs welcome. Bring yours, meet everyone else’s.

120 Oxford St from the street

Here’s where you’ll find us

  • 5-minute walk to Victoria Parade trams

  • 5-minute tram ride to Parliament Train Station

  • 2-minute walk to Smith Street

  • 10-minute tram ride to Melbourne CBD

  • Surrounded by Melbourne’s best pubs, bars, restaurants and cafés

  • Short-term 1 and 2 hour parking on Oxford Street

  • 14 dedicated parking spots, and a long-term lot on Little Oxford Street around the corner

  • 5-minute walk to the Keith Haring mural

  • Proud Mary up the road, one of the world’s 100 best coffee shops

120 Oxford St, Collingwood Vic Australia

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