Game development industry's record-breaking rise

  • Hon Clare Curran
Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media

Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media Minister Clare Curran welcomes the results of an independent survey released today that shows New Zealand’s game development industry earned a record $143 million in the last financial year.

The annual revenue represents a 43 per cent rise on the previous year.

The survey of 41 New Zealand Game Developers Association studios found 93 per cent of this revenue came from exports of digital creative software, and the number of artists and developers employed in the industry rose 10 per cent.

“The results are a testament to the wealth of talent in New Zealand’s game development industry, which continues to go from strength to strength. It’s great to see the top quality work that comes out of these studios is staking its claim on the international stage,” Clare Curran says.

The survey also highlights areas that can be improved and if addressed, could help realise the potential of New Zealand’s game development industry.

“The government has the ambitious goal of growing ICT so it’s the second largest contributor to GDP by 2025. Our tech sector is already growing but we need do things differently if we are to achieve our ICT goal. It’s vitally important to this Government that people’s well-being is at the heart of this and everything we do,” Clare Curran says.

“The largest 10 game development companies earned the lions’ share of the industry’s revenue and employed 81 per cent of the industry’s workforce. But if we want game development to continue to grow in a sustainable way, we need to support the next generation of small game studios to scale-up.

“The survey results will contribute to new research on interactive media – including game development. I’m looking forward to seeing the research results when the report is released later this year.

“Part of the research will explore how the interactive media industry relates to government goals. The recommendations for government and industry could really help us work together to realise the potential of this fast-growing area.”

The work is being undertaken by the New Zealand Technology Industry Association and New Zealand Game Developers Association, with support from the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment.