There’ll be much more cash in gaming as a profession

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon not too long ago instructed unemployed faculty leavers to “stop playing PlayStation and go find a job”. 

But the burgeoning gaming trade hopes curiosity in PlayStation will translate right into a profession within the trade, which has grown by 86 % prior to now two years.

The nation’s fast-growing gaming trade is making a pitch to younger folks – and their sceptical dad and mom – to remain within the nation and be part of the extremely expert sector. That’s been backed by Labour’s newest rebate coverage, aiming to cease these gaming firms heading offshore.

On Wednesday, Labour introduced its coverage to develop the rebate system for recreation builders, permitting as much as 15 extra small firms to use for a 25 % saving on spends in New Zealand. Most of the additional money would go to a handful of high-performing builders already turning over tens of millions.

Many of those firms have been purchased by personal worldwide corporations however retain a bodily presence in New Zealand. Government, Opposition and trade representatives hope the inducement will translate into native financial development and job alternatives.

At recreation developer PikPok’s headquarters in Wellington, Labour chief Chris Hipkins introduced Labour’s third coverage in three days, geared toward placating pleas from the gaming trade for extra help.

The trade has positioned itself as a high-paying sector with a necessity for a wide range of backgrounds, from coding to artwork to finance, in hopes of retaining younger New Zealanders who could in any other case go to work in Australia.  

The median revenue for a employee within the trade rose from $41,534 to $77,700 between 2013 and 2024, based on information collected as a part of the rebate’s two-year review, revealed in September 2025. The whole variety of workers rose from 230 to 1600 over the identical time interval.

‘We have a job to do as an industry in encouraging parents to understand that our industry is a great place to get qualified and go into. Our industry pays well, and you get to senior positions relatively quickly compared to other industries as well.’

Lance Burgess, PikPok

PikPok’s chief monetary officer Lance Burgess stated the trade was “absolutely” a spot younger folks ought to be seeking to as they enter college. But gaming nonetheless wasn’t being recognised because the form of esteemed profession dad and mom may wish to encourage their youngsters to pursue.

“We have a job to do as an industry in encouraging parents to understand that our industry is a great place to get qualified and go into. Our industry pays well, and you get to senior positions relatively quickly compared to other industries as well,” stated Burgess.

Successive governments have positioned themselves as a keen supply of handouts for the trade, in hopes of retaining the fast-growing sector. 

Labour’s announcement would alter the Game Development Sector Rebate – launched in Labour’s Budget 2023 – to permit extra of the $40 million annual allotment to succeed in the trade. Currently about $22m is definitely spent annually. The whole funding wouldn’t change, however could possibly be prolonged in future budgets.

Labour’s plan is to lift the roof and decrease the ground. The minimal spend for eligibility – for enterprise bills, together with staffing, spent in New Zealand – decreases from $250,000 to $200,000, whereas the utmost an organization could be allowed to say again in rebates rises from 20 to 25 %.

The whole rises from $3m to $4.5m, providing an additional $1.5m to the handful of firms working at such a excessive stage. According to the rebate’s two-year evaluation, most recreation builders have fewer than 10 workers. Over 100 corporations characterize particular person folks. 

Labour’s science and expertise spokesperson Reuben Davidson was on the announcement, and stated he anticipated decreasing the ground would permit 10 to fifteen extra recreation builders to enter the rebate system. 

Hipkins framed the announcement as a bid to maintain invaluable industries onshore. “We want to back keeping our high-skilled, highly productive industries here in New Zealand; video gaming is a really good example of that.” 

The rebate itself was launched by the Labour authorities after Australia started luring recreation builders with its personal rewards: a 30 % tax rebate and a $20m cap. The New Zealand system didn’t match these numbers, however retained sufficient of the trade to see its worth practically double since 2023, on observe to outperform the wool trade.

The coalition Government retained the coverage, however Luxon wouldn’t decide to throwing its help behind Labour’s expanded coverage regardless of his repeated reward for the sector’s development. 

Act chief David Seymour stated he didn’t assume a rebate was the way in which to go. “I just oppose the idea that politicians should try and be venture capitalists. If you want to be a venture capitalist, do it yourself,” he stated. “There is not the money to go and speculate on something that sounds sexy to politicians.”

Burgess stated the trade was in good condition because of the help from the programme. The development it enabled led to continued help by the coalition Government, which, as Burgess stated, “continued the programme after axing pretty much everything else”.

“We’re in a great place, we’ve got broad bipartisan support across Parliament now, and that is a great place to be. I’m happy we’re not going to be a football kicked around the political arena.”

The coalition Government selected to not lengthen the rebate scheme in keeping with Labour’s new coverage, regardless of trade pleas. Instead, it elevated seed funding accessible by means of MBIE’s Centre Of Digital Excellence grants by about $2.75m, a transfer Hipkins supported.

This enabled extra small builders to develop to an applicable measurement for the rebate fairly than open extra funding to already-large builders.

The majority of the additional $11m anticipated for use because of the modifications – if Labour was in a position to govern and implement the coverage in 2027 – would go to the handful of high-performing massive builders.

PikPok itself is a kind of excessive performers. Mario Wynands, the corporate’s chief government, stated the raised ceiling was “certainly something that would be beneficial to ourselves”. PikPok had hit the $3m rebate restrict and had urged authorities to lift the ceiling.