High Score has unlocked its full 2026 program, marking 10 years as Australia's leading game audio conference.
Composers, sound designers, music directors and audio professionals from Australia and overseas are heading to Melbourne for the milestone 10th edition of High Score 2026, with a program that traces just how far game audio has come over the last decade.
Presented by the Victorian Music Development Office (VMDO) alongside Music Australia and APRA/AMCOS, with ACMI as venue partner, this year’s sessions go well beyond the technical craft of sound design, getting into what composers should actually be paid, how musicians perform for virtual worlds, and what happens once a soundtrack leaves the game behind.
High Score 2026
- 3 and 4 October at ACMI
- Presented by the Victorian Music Development Office, Music Australia and APRA/AMCOS
- Tickets here
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
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One of the more personal additions to the High Score 2026 program is Legacy of the Lamb, a session built around the creative team behind Australian hit Cult of the Lamb and its expansion, Woolhaven.
Following the death of composer River Boy during development, collaborators including musician Arrowbird and developer Jojo Zhou stepped in to finish the score while keeping his voice at the centre of it.
The session will look back on his contribution to the game’s sound while exploring how the wider team carried the work forward together.
From cartoon noir to composer pay: the rest of the program
Elsewhere on the bill, PlaySide Studios pair Louis Seccull and Alec Bathman unpack the sound of cartoon FPS Mouse: P.I. For Hire, walking through how the game balances noir atmosphere with slapstick comedy across its effects, voice work and score.
Former Galvatrons frontman-turned-developer Johnny Galvatron joins producer and composer Josh Abrahams, whose credits stretch from Melbourne’s electronic scene through to Moulin Rouge, to dig into Mixtape, the homegrown game built entirely around licensed music and needle drops.
Two separate sessions turn to FMOD, the Australian-built audio engine now used industry-wide.
One explores how audio director Aaron Edwards and sound designer Mat Dwyer built the demonic soundscape of roguelike deckbuilder Malys, while another sees game audio veterans Jeff van Dyck and Anders Groenningsaeter break down a custom-built synthesiser used to wrangle the chaotic, physics-driven sound of Delverium.
The program also tackles the business side of the industry, with the Australian Guild of Screen Composers launching a new Games Rate Card, offering composers indicative fee guidance drawn from survey data collected in late 2025.
Award-winning Japanese music director Yoko Honda Gaalaas, whose credits include Bayonetta 3 and Trek to Yomi, gives a rare look at the job of shaping a game’s musical identity from the inside, while separate sessions cover recording live musicians for virtual performances and the growing life soundtracks have on streaming, vinyl and at live shows.
The new additions join headline sessions already announced, including BAFTA-nominated composer Christopher Larkin unpacking his score for Hollow Knight: Silksong, Wilbert Roget II (Helldivers 2, Mortal Kombat 11) exploring his approach to musical sound design, and Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe’s Duncan Smith tracing the making of the soundtrack for PlayStation title Saros.
A further session looks at building a game audio career across Asia, moderated by composer Kevin Won, and Otherworld Agency’s Fabian Malabello runs a live feedback session giving emerging composers the chance to respond to real briefs from Australian developers.
Curated for the first time by composer, musician and broadcaster Meena Shamaly, High Score 2026 takes place at ACMI on 3 and 4 October.
For more information, head here.
This article was made in partnership with the Victorian Music Development Office (VMDO), an initiative of the Victorian Government.
