The New Zealand video game industry is growing year on year with help from integral businesses such as CODE (Center of Development Excellence), NZGDA (New Zealand Game Developers Association), and the Game Development Sector Rebate from NZ On Air.
The NZ Games Industry survey for 2024, organized by the NZGDA, paints a great picture of our growing industry in terms of job opportunities, revenue, and projections for years to come.
Looking at some of the key stats and figures from this year’s survey, the New Zealand game industry has grown by 26% in the past year, generating NZD $547.794 million in pre-tax revenue! Over 53% of studios expect further growth, despite the industry being hit with layoffs and shifts in the global economy. “Key drivers of this growth include increased demand for New Zealand-developed games and the sector’s ability to adapt to market challenges.”
NZGDA Directors Key Takeaways & Thoughts
We heard from Joy Keene, the director of the NZGDA, about this year’s results and their thoughts on the growing New Zealand video game industry.
Joy: Starting with the revenue, which we are extremely pleased with. Comparing ourselves to the rest of the world, we see that the international market reached just 4% growth, while NZ achieved 26% growth. Despite it being a tough year for game developers worldwide, NZ developers have shown their resilience.
These results also highlight the potential of game development in NZ and what can be achieved through a program like CODE, which is generating impressive game development talent. I believe that without CODE, the quality of games coming out of new NZ studios wouldn’t be as high as they are.
The Game Development Sector Rebate (GDSR), which held its first round this year, has enabled NZ studios to retain and/or hire more staff. This will, in turn, mean that there will be more resources to make and support even more games. However, with a shortage of programmers, producers, and artists (to name a few), that expansion may be more difficult than it sounds.
Another key takeaway is that we have more women in the industry than ever before, and in fact, 2 out of every 5 senior leaders are women. This demonstrates the power of inclusivity in an industry like Game Development.
The industry as a whole is pretty optimistic about growth in the coming year, and looking at the lineup of games being released in the next 12 months, it is easy to see why. Tales of the Shire, Wanderer, Path of Exile 2, and PikPok’s “Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days” are all set to be released in 2025 amongst some other great titles, and they will undoubtedly be huge successes!
Kiwi Game Starter had some incredible games put forward this year, and even though it is a cliché, saying that the competition was tough is an understatement. After the final judging, there still wasn’t a clear winner, and our judges took extra time to deliberate. Rollick N’ Roll by Crayonix Games came out on top ahead of Project Mix and Teeto.
The judges commented that Rollick N’ Roll was an interesting take on simple mechanics and was well-executed. They were also impressed with the game and its playability (and re-playability) potential. This game has a clear target audience, which is in turn matched by demand for this style of game. It has the “IT factor.”
All three finalists this year were CODE-supported games, and the quality of each of the finalists is a testament to the success that CODE is having in our industry.
Stay tuned to GamesNight as we continue to cover the NZ video game industry in 2025 with more developer interviews, video game news, and reviews. Be sure to also follow us on our socials below!
