News


2022 Kiwi Game Starter Final Judges
July 12, 2022

Last month, our industry Selection Judges had the difficult task of whittling this year’s Kiwi Game Starter entrants down to just three finalists. Now that the final round of judging commences, we thought we’d get to know the experts who make up the 2022 Kiwi Game Starter Final Judging Panel:   Andy Phelps, University of […]

2022 Kiwi Game Starter Finalists Announced
June 22, 2022

Three finalists spots go to Out of Sight, Undeadly, and Warrior Chef

PikPok celebrates 25 years!
June 16, 2022

“We started with just three of us in a flat in Lower Hutt, and we’ve grown it to a company that earns tens of millions of dollars and creates hundreds of jobs.”    PikPok – the globally renowned studio that has been delighting players with compelling gameplay, evocative art, and immersive audio design since 1997 […]

NZGDC22: What You Need to Know… Now!
May 19, 2022

Our annual New Zealand Game Developers Conference is back and better than ever!  We’re planning an in-person event that will mark the “coming back together” of our community after some pretty turbulent Covid times for everyone. With support from our core partners Wellington NZ and Wellington City Council plus Platinum sponsors Epic, Hublix and Tourism […]

NZGDA Membership Model
May 18, 2022

As a Not-For-Profit advocacy organisation, we have made it our mission to deliver above and beyond what would be expected; from our advocacy and lobbying efforts to the successful delivery of an annual national conference, business startup competitions, mentorship programmes, community content curation and creation, among other initiatives over the last decade.  This is due, […]

Mini Motorways Launches On The Nintendo Switch!
May 12, 2022

via Surprise Launch in Indie World Showcase! Mini Motorways, the minimalist strategy traffic management sim with over four million players from developer Dinosaur Polo Club, revs its engine to reveal the highly-anticipated Nintendo Switch system launch during today’s Indie World Showcase. The “Night Lights” update will simultaneously land on Apple Arcade and Steam, featuring more […]

Creative AR Studio NZXR Aquired by Niantic
April 13, 2022

Even for members of the general public who may be unfamiliar with the name Niantic, you can guarantee they will know their technology very, very well… From the Keyhole product in 2001 that allowed users to zoom into interactive 3D maps of the planet. Conceived as a video game that would let people from across […]

Dinosaur Polo Club wins the IGF Audience Award

Pōneke-based game developers Dinosaur Polo Club have won the Audience Award at the Independent Games Festival with their critically acclaimed game Mini Motorways.

Alt Ventures Announces a Further 3 Gaming Studio Investments
March 31, 2022

Latest studio investments from Alt Venture’s Kiwi gaming fund include: Deep Field Games Is a new studio founded by Geoff “Zag” Keene – creator of Unfortunate Spacemen and godfather of the social-deception genre – who has assembled a crack team of industry veterans from around the world focused on co-op games with mood, atmosphere, and […]

Scale-Up grant enables expansion for Auckland’s Mad Carnival Entertainment
March 22, 2022

This week CODE – New Zealand’s Centre of Digital Excellence – announced a $250,000 Scale-Up grant has been awarded to Mad Carnival Entertainment, a new Dunedin-based satellite studio from the founders of Auckland’s Method and M Theory. Although still largely under wraps given market sensitivity, Director and Co-Founder Samantha Ramlu has hinted at their first […]

NZGDC22 Applications Open: Round 2
March 17, 2022

The New Zealand Game Developers Conference 2022 will be held on 17 – 19 August 2022 at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington. Tickets will go sale in June.   Currently we are accepting speaker and panel applications via this form. Applications close 17th April 11:59pm. With news of border restrictions easing, we wanted […]

Kiwi Game Starter 2022 – call for entries!
March 1, 2022

Entry forms for the New Zealand Game Developers Association startup programme for interactive games businesses, the Kiwi Game Starter, are now open! Entrants should prepare their playable prototypes and business/marketing plans for submission via the submission form. The deadline for submissions is Monday 2 May 2022 at 5pm. Thanks to our kind sponsor University of […]

Kiwi Game Studio Born From Pandemic Raises $650,000 to Develop Cooperative Games
February 24, 2022

New Zealand-based video-game developer Space Rock Games raises $650,000 from venture capital investors Hillfarrance and the New Zealand Growth Capital Partners to develop their debut game, Criminals Within. With this round closed, the company has become one of the first venture-backed gaming studios in the country.   Space Rock Games was originally founded by five […]

Consultation for Digital Technologies Industry Transformation Plan 2022-2032
February 14, 2022

The Digital Economy and Communications Minister David Clark has released the digital technologies sector draft Industry Transformation Plan (ITP*) for consultation. It includes specific proposals for the Government to support Aotearoa New Zealand’s interactive media and game development sector, and is seeking your feedback. *An ITP is a sector-based development plan, jointly produced between industry, […]

PikPok acquires Colombian developer Wizard Fun Factory
February 11, 2022

PikPok expands globally via acquisition to scale studio bandwidth and portfolio Leading games publisher PikPok® today announced the acquisition of Wizard Fun Factory, an independent video game development studio based in Medellín, Colombia. Known for crafting high-quality immersive experiences across mobile, web, and VR/AR, Wizard has collaborated in recent years with PikPok on updates and […]