NEW ZEALAND’S GAME DEVELOPERS BREAK $1 BILLION ANNUAL REVENUE TARGET

The New Zealand game development sector has reached its $1 billion revenue target two years ahead of schedule.

The milestone confirms game development is now a substantial contributor to the national economy through weightless digital exports.

We also celebrate another milestone, with the combined creative, digital and tech sectors likely exceeding the primary sector for GDP contribution in New Zealand for the first time.

NZ Game Developers Conference 2025

Kiwi game developers now have an established track record of producing globally successful games, and support from the Game Development Sector Rebate (GDSR) and funding from the Centre of Digital Excellence (CODE) has accelerated breaking the $1b ceiling this year. Based on forecast income and employer taxes paid by our studios , the government is getting approximately an eight to one return on every dollar it invests through the GDSR and CODE.

"We’re seeing a truly inspiring industry success story here - our local game development sector is growing at more than 20 times the global average, year on year," said Joy Keene, Executive Director of the NZGDA. "This is the result of government and industry working together to boost the innovation and growth of our studios, which has directly led to an economic boost for the country.”

The NZGDA originally anticipated when the GDSR was announced in 2023 that the $1b annual industry revenue target would be hit in 2028. Today’s announcement that it has been hit two years early follows steady growth recorded last year, when the sector generated $758.9 million in revenue and saw workforce growth of over 29 percent.

“Our focus now is to ensure the education and vocational pathways are in place to make sure the sector can keep growing,” Keene said. “Growth means jobs and, as a weightless export industry, game development presents a real opportunity for New Zealand to insulate itself against disruptions in the broader world economy.”

Comprehensive statistics for the current year will be released by NZGDA inSeptember in its Annual industry report.

Hear Joy Keene speak with Francesca Rudkin from The Sunday Session on NewstalkZB here

2026 NZ Game Development Industry Revenue

Preliminary results*

* Total revenue to the year end March 2026.

Note: data may not be complete