Dev employment in New Zealand jumps 50 per cent

New Zealand’s game development industry has seen a jump in growth of 46 per cent this year, a trade body has claimed.

The New Zealand Game Developers Association said that the sector has been boosted by the huge growth of smartphone and online games, resulting in 114 new jobs being created since September 2010.

The total number of full-time employees in the industry now stands at 359, with local studios expecting to create another 99 new jobs over the next 12 months.

“New Zealand games studios are export businesses, employing highly skilled technical and creative staff, creating original game ideas and increasingly retaining that intellectual property in New Zealand,” says NZGDA chairman Stephen Knightly.

Knightly added: “Digital distribution has made it easier for games studios to sell our games directly to global audiences.

“Without a publisher or middleman the margins are higher and the profits stay in New Zealand.”

The success of the industry in New Zealand is in stark contrast to its neighbours in Australia, which is scrambling to recover after studios such as Team Bondi, THQ Australia and Krome have all closed down recently.