New Zealand industry grows 46 per cent in 12 months
Survey of 21 studios reveals 114 new jobs created, 99 more in the coming year
The New Zealand games industry grew by 46 per cent during the 12-month period ending in September.
A survey of 21 studios conducted by the New Zealand Game Developers Association (NZGDA) revealed that the country's industry supports 359 full-time employees.
Of that number, 114 positions were created in the last 12 months, with a further 99 expected in the coming year. Around 40 percent of those jobs will be for programmers, 40 per cent will be artists, and 20 per cent will be managers.
"Unlike some other kinds of tech startups, interactive games studios have an large addressable market hungry for product and can generate cash-flow reasonably early in their history," said NZGDA chairman Stephen Knightly.
Studios participating in the survey included Sidhe, SmallWorlds, NinjaKiwi, Cerebral Fix and Grinding Gear Games. 77 per cent of participants had self-published one or more of their previous games, and had a combined total of 59 projects in development.
[Source: The National Business Review]