Interactive Media & Creative.
Auckland's creative sector is driven by ambition, producing globally successful games, screen and design.
Sector Overview
Auckland is New Zealand's creative capital, home to its biggest advertising agencies, its largest screen sector and, increasingly, its most valuable interactive exports, all drawing on the same pool of artists, animators and engineers.
For decades now Auckland has been a place for local and international production for television, commercials and film, enjoyed by a global audience. A new wave of immersive-tech firms is turning the same creative talent to virtual and augmented reality.
Game development is one of the standouts: a national industry that reached NZ$1 billion in revenue in 2026, with 95% of that revenue earned offshore. Auckland is home to New Zealand’s largest studio, Grinding Gear Games, the maker of the global hit, Path of Exile.
A partnership between Auckland Council and west Auckland iwi (tribe) Te Kawerau ā Maki established Te Puna Creative Innovation Quarter in 2022. The quarter forms a circuit of creative industries in Henderson.
At its heart is Te Puna Creative Hub, a base for creative industry businesses. Anchor tenant Crescendo is a social enterprise specialising in audio recording, sound design, and music production, with a dedicated audiobook and podcast studio. Studio profits fund Crescendo's youth-skill programmes.
Why Auckland for Interactive Media & Creative?
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1.
Creative capital
From the studios behind global game development, to the fast-growing screen sector and the agencies shaping innovative campaigns, Auckland brings together the production capability and creative and technical talent to reach international markets.
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2.
Backed for Growth
Auckland’s studios have put New Zealand on the game map, from Path of Exile to the Bloons franchise, this industry exports 95% of its revenue, backed by government rebates and dedicated funding.
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3.
Versatile talent
Artists, animators, engineers and post-production crews move between games, screen and immersive tech, giving Auckland a versatile workforce. Emerging fields like AR/VR and AI draw on world-class craft from day one.
Ecosystem
ORGANISATIONS
BUSINESSES
RESEARCH AND FUNDING
Success story
RocketWerkz: The Auckland studio behind a worldwide number one PC game
RocketWerkz is one of New Zealand's major video game studios and a global success story. Founded in 2015 by DayZ creator Dean Hall, the company quickly secured significant investment from Tencent and set about building games with worldwide reach.
It is the developer behind Icarus, a survival game that became the number one PC game in the world, alongside ambitious titles like Stationeers and the newly announced Kitten Space Agency. The studio has attracted elite talent from industry heavyweights – Bethesda, Activision, Electronic Arts, Wētā FX, Grinding Gear Games and Bohemia Interactive – as well as the worlds of film and animation.
That success has been built on the Auckland waterfront. In 2020, RocketWerkz relocated to the pinnacle of Auckland's PwC Tower, one of the city's most sought-after commercial addresses. The studio's panoramic views of the Hauraki Gulf provide an inspiring base for its ambitious creative team. In 2016 Tencent, the world's largest games publisher, came on board as a strategic investor, helping the studio reach audiences in new markets. Strong partnerships with local universities keep the talent pipeline flowing, confirming Auckland can hold its own in world-class game development.
Work with us
Meet Chris Titford, our creative industries specialist.
Leads an industry team focussed on growing Auckland’s globally competitive, resilient creative sector.
