A new report has found interactive media is a $143 million industry and is one of the fastest growing parts of New Zealand's digital economy.
Interactive Aotearoa - Driving growth and wellbeing through interactive media was prepared by the New Zealand Game Developers Association with support from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and NZTech.
Launching the report today, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford said the sector is experiencing strong growth and has huge future potential.
"The opportunities in interactive media are significant and our Government wants to see the sector continue to strengthen and grow.
"Whether it's through game development, digital story-telling, augmented reality, education technology or health applications, interactive media is one of the fastest growing parts of the digital economy both here and around the world.
"It also fits the profile of the kind of industries we need to foster to achieve a productive, sustainable and inclusive economy - it is low emission, export driven and scalable. It also offers a range of social and cultural benefits in fields like health and education."
A new, sector-led approach to growing industry innovation and boosting productivity was announced by the Government in July with a focus on creating Industry Transformation Plans (ITP) for different sectors. The Interactive Aotearoa report will help shape a future ITP for the creative industries sector.
"It's exciting to see how the industry has developed in New Zealand already," Phil Twyford said.
"The last six years has seen the sector grow by 39 per cent annually to become a $143 million industry, with a number of companies already shining. For example a game created by Kumeu's NinjaKiwi was the fourth most downloaded paid game on the Apple App store in 2018. And there are plenty of other success stories.
"This report is a useful summary of the potential this sector offers to our economy and the wellbeing of New Zealanders. We look forward to continuing discussions with the interactive media sector on how its future potential can best be realised," Phil Twyford said.
