New Zealand game studios grow revenue 17% to $829m with rebate support

• GDSR-supported studios grew combined revenue 17% to $829m in 2025/26.
• The number of participating studios increased from 40 to 43.
• Games in development rose from 170 to 194.
• Small and medium-sized businesses accounted for 90% of recipient studios.

New Zealand's game development studios generated a combined $829 million in revenue in 2025/26, up 17% year-over-year.

That's according to new data from NZ On Air, which showed that the milestone comes with support from the Game Development Sector Rebate (GDSR) after distributing $21.9m in rebates to 43 studios in 2026 compared to $22.4m distributed in 2025. 

The number of participating studios increased from 40 to 43, while games in development rose from 170 to 194. Small and medium-sized businesses accounted for 90% of recipient studios. 

Moreover, medium-sized studios recorded the strongest revenue growth at 44%, followed by small studios at 21%, while large studios grew revenue by 10%.

Export growth

Export revenue represented 98% of total revenue generated by recipient studios, signifying the industry's role as a major digital export sector.

Although total full-time equivalent employment across recipient studios fell from 1,288 to 1,124, the average GDSR-supported studio increased its workforce by 14% despite wider industry layoffs.

"New Zealand’s games sector is largely made up of small and medium-sized studios, and these results show just how important they are," said NZ On Air GDSR programme director Chantelle Cole. 

“While the industry is increasingly gaining international recognition for producing world-class games, it's important to note that New Zealand's success is being built by ambitious studios of all sizes.”

The latest GDSR results make up the majority of New Zealand's games industry revenue, which surpassed $1 billion last month, reaching the milestone two years ahead of the New Zealand Game Developers Association's original 2028 projection following the rebate's introduction in 2023.