The video game begins with a disturbing scene: a city almost entirely underwater. The city's developers must reclaim land from the sea in order to build new infrastructure, but too much digging will trigger earthquakes and raw materials are scarce. Survival is contingent on finding workarounds, and on installing tidal turbines and other technologies that can harness renewable energy. Squaring such big circles might not sound like a fun way to spend a Saturday. But when Terra Nil — a city-building strategy game from Cape Town-based Free Lives — hit the market last year, players from all over the globe signed up to give it a go. Within a week of the game's debut, more than 300,000 people played it.
New Zealand games industry grew 7% to $270.9 million in 2023
19.12.2023 - 13:58 / gamesindustry.biz
The New Zealand games industry generated NZD $434.4 million ($270.9 million) in the financial year ended March 2023, according to a survey by the New Zealand Game Developers Association.
This represents a 7% growth year-over-year, compared to an increase of 47% in the previous financial year.
According to the NZGDA, this small growth was attributed to competition from Australian tax incentives and the end of lockdown, as well as skill shortages and a lack of hiring diversity.
"Australia's tax incentives deeply affected our industry over the past two years, constraining our studios in the battle for talent and curbing growth," said recently appointed NZGDA chairperson Carl Leducq.
Leducq took over the role from Chelsea Rapp this month, who spoke to GamesIndustry.biz earlier this year about the continued growth of the New Zealand games industry and the introduction of its tax relief scheme.
Leducq continued: "The commitment to the New Zealand Game Development Sector Rebate means the sector's strong growth will resume. Our studios have stood strong amidst these challenges, and I am certain of their resilience and potential for future success."
Studios will be able to claim this rebate for the current financial year ending 31 March, 2024.
While the impact of this rebate won't be "reflected in our revenues until it comes into effect in a year or two," Leducq said "it has ignited a new wave of interest and investment by developers."
The report found that 44% of studios earn a significant portion of their income from the US, followed by Europe (34%), China (12%), Asia (9%), and Australia (6%). Over half of studios in New Zealand said more than 10% of their income is sourced internally.
PC was the most dominant platform in New Zealand, with 50 of the studios surveyed (54%) receiving revenue from PC games, followed by mobile with 31 studios (31%), VR (17%), and consoles (16%).
The 93 studios surveyed represented 1,106 employees by the New Zealand games industry, a slight increase of the 1,070 people working in the previous year.
The 12 largest studios in the country employ the majority of developers — 792 full-time employees, in fact — making up 72% of the workforce.
Women represented 22% of developers in the New Zealand games industry, and Maori representation grew from 2% to 5% over the past year.
10% of developers surveyed identified as LGBTQI+, 8% identified as being neurodivergent, and 2% as having a disability.
Developers reported a limited amount of hiring in 2023 due to Australian tax incentives and "poaching" from Australian studios. However, 51% of studios in New Zealand are planning to hire additional staff in the next financial year.
Of the studios surveyed, 83% are locally owned
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