NZGDC Update, GDSR Applications and more acronyms inside!

Newsletter | Kawerongo

March 2026 | Poutū-te-rangi

He kōrero nā te kaihautu | Executive Director's Note

Kia ora koutou,

Earlier this month, we had an excellent meeting with Minister Shane Reti, who has committed to championing game development inside government for the remainder of his term. This is a genuine opportunity - but it only works if we can put wins in front of him, and that means we need to hear from you. Every studio success matters: a successful game launch, a publishing deal, a major milestone - contact me directly at joy@nzgda.com or forward your press releases so we can include them in regular updates to the minister. If we don’t know about it, we can’t tell them about it.

Continuing on the government thread, Inland Revenue (IR) is proposing changes to its tax rules that pose a significant financial risk to our studios. Early analysis indicates the cost of transitioning to the proposed rules could run into the tens of millions for our industry, with some studios facing tax liabilities brought forward on income that may never have been taxable in the first place, due to the deferring of claimable expenses.

NZGDA has made a formal submission to IR on this issue, and we are also in active dialogue with MBIE and are writing to the appropriate ministers to push back on this. We will keep you updated on progress.

If your studio is impacted, please let us know what these changes mean for you so we can escalate those examples and use them in our advocacy efforts.

Last Friday, Anna Barham and I had the pleasure of officially unveiling NZGDC 2026 at a launch event hosted in partnership with Auckland City Council at Te Puna Creative Hub. The energy in the room was something special, and it was a proud moment to make the announcement official. NZGDC is returning to Auckland after 8 years - this year at the New Zealand International Convention Centre. This year’s theme is “Shaping our world.” Read below for more.

Ngā mihi nui,

Joy Keene,

Executive Director

Well it's official. We're heading to the New Zealand International Convention Centre in Auckland for NZGDC 2026 and we can't wait! 🙌. It's a beautiful space (click here if you haven't seen it yet) and we're looking forward to bringing our amazing game dev community together in Tāmaki Makaurau.

With four days of Conference (30 Sept - 3 Oct) you can expect Masterclasses, an all inclusive, all opinions matter, facilitated and structured AI Round Table, presentations & panels, social events, networking opportunities, bookable meeting space and our biggest Kiwi Games Zone yet!

Applications for speakers and masterclass leaders will be opening in the next two weeks and we'll be calling for another amazing team of Volunteers. Check the NZGDC website and stay in touch via all the NZGDA social media channels for updates.

NZGDC Theme:

Shaping Our World

Shaping Our World is about recognising our shared responsibility as creators. The games and experiences we build don’t exist in isolation - they reflect our values, our choices, and the communities behind them.

Built together and shaped with purpose, this conference celebrates intentional creation, collaboration, and the imperfect, human process of making worlds that matter.

News | Pūrongo

A new government-backed initiative

is aiming to turn Pacific youth's passion for gaming into high paying careers in a four year programmed called "Game On". Read more ...

Get the latest update from NZ On Air regarding GDSR applications - which open tomorrow!!

Read update

CODE's Travel Grant Round 8 is now open for Expressions of Interest. While specifically targeting Gamescom you can apply for other events. Find out more

Rauemi | NZGDA Member Content

Welcome to our newest Studio Member

Founded in 2025 by Chris Wilson (co-creator of Path of Exile), Light Pattern is a boutique game development studio working on an unannounced project. We extend a warm welcome to Chris and the team 🙂

Member Offers

Launching soon is an amazing offer from Playful exclusively for NZGDA Members.

Playful is a structured, flexible and affordable playtesting service designed specifically for indie studios.

Follow NZGDA on social media to be the first to know when the offer is launched.

Member migration update:

Stage 1 of our member migration to the new system MembershipWorks has gone well and we have scheduled stage 2 and stage 3 (final stage) over the next three weeks. If you haven't received an email from us its either in your junk folder, or you are included in the next stage.

Much like the members already enjoying the new platform, you'll be able to jump right in, get your renewal all sorted, add or update your profile and take advantage of the members offers and benefits on the Member Hub.

And if you're not a member and would like to join - you can do that on the new system too! Just click the Join Now link under the Membership menu of our website and choose your member type - easy!