NZ Game Developers Storm GDC 2013
30 March 2013


Movies like the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit have made New Zealand’s film companies world-renowned. More recently the entertainment industry is discovering that the same New Zealand creative culture is yielding equally powerful results for game development. New Zealand’s cluster of game developers, though a tight-knit community of approximately 450 professionals, is currently responsible for some of the world’s hottest new games and online worlds.

As game developers come together from all over the world for the 2013 Game Developer’s Conference, New Zealand-created games will be featured on many of the ‘top lists’ and prominent screens. Six New Zealand-made games were Top 10 iOS games in the U.S. last year, including The Blockheads, Bloons Tower Defence 5, MiniGolf Matchup, Major Mayhem, Into The Dead, and My Little Pony Friendship is Magic.  Online games Path of Exile, Smallworlds, Minimonos and BigLittleBang attract audiences in the millions.

New Zealand companies at the conference include PikPok, Runaway, Grinding Gear Games, Ninja Kiwi, Cerebral Fix, Rush Digital, supported by the New Zealand Game Developers Association.

Creative Kiwi Firepower

According to the New Zealand Game Developers Association, on average only 32 percent of a New Zealand game developer’s revenue comes from contract work, with the vast majority of income coming in from original intellectual property (IP) and royalties. Additionally, more than 99 percent of the games developed in New Zealand have a reach outside the country’s population; the games are mainly exported and digitally distributed – increasingly in partnership with leading US based studios.

“Developing highly creative original IP underpins the growth of the NZ industry. Original hit games like Path of Exile and Bloons Tower Defence both build sustainable income streams, reputation and skills, which in turn can lead to key partnerships with – and investment by – leading international companies,” said Stephen Knightly, Chairperson NZ Game Developers Association.

New Zealand’s game development community is enjoying significant growth:

It’s no coincidence that game developers, primarily technology entrepreneurs, find a hospitable business climate in New Zealand. According to The World Bank and International Finance Corporation’s Doing Business 2013 report, released in October, New Zealand ranks as the easiest place to start a business out of 185 countries.  Forbes also ranked New Zealand as the “Best Country for Business” in its annual ranking this year.