Smart ideas can turn into global products here
In a city long defined by trade and infrastructure, Auckland is turning its gaze toward something less tangible but increasingly lucrative: the art of making games. On June 6, the GridAKL innovation hub hosts its Indie Games Showcase, an event that has become a quiet catalyst for an industry now earning $759 million annually and growing faster than most traditional sectors. What began as a small gathering between two colleagues in 2019 has matured into a deliberate act of civic investment — a recognition that the next generation of export value may emerge not from ports or factories, but from small studios where imagination and code converge.
- New Zealand's gaming industry grew 29% in jobs and earned $759M in 2025, yet many of its studios remain isolated in home offices, starved of the connections that turn potential into product.
- GridAKL's Indie Games Showcase was designed precisely to break that isolation — placing developers in the same room as investors, veterans, and players whose feedback can reshape a game's entire trajectory.
- The stakes are real: studio SOMETIMES LIMITED went from demoing Bento Blocks at a Showcase to 25,000+ downloads, international representation in Japan, and a Nintendo Switch release in the pipeline.
- Auckland Council is treating gaming not as a cultural curiosity but as a strategic economic pillar, with Mayor Wayne Brown calling it a sector where smart ideas become global products.
- The city's commitment is hardening into infrastructure: September will bring the NZ Game Developers Conference to Auckland for the first time in nearly a decade, signaling that this is policy, not just enthusiasm.
On June 6, Auckland's GridAKL innovation hub will host its Indie Games Showcase — an event that began in 2019 as a modest initiative by two colleagues and has since become one of the city's most consequential gatherings for creative entrepreneurs. Its premise is deceptively simple: put developers in the same room as investors, industry veterans, and players. For a sector scattered across home offices and small studios, that proximity can be transformative.
The evidence is tangible. Local studio SOMETIMES LIMITED demoed their game Bento Blocks at an earlier Showcase, and the connections forged there carried the game to more than 25,000 downloads, international representation in Japan, and an upcoming Nintendo Switch release. Developer Shrikkanth Sreedharan credits GridAKL's broader ecosystem — co-working space, mentorship, investor introductions — with turning his studio Astronaut Diaries from an idea into a funded operation approaching its debut release.
Auckland Council frames the sector as a strategic economic asset. Mayor Wayne Brown argues that global competitiveness demands backing industries like gaming, where ideas become export products. The numbers lend weight to that conviction: New Zealand's gaming industry earned $759 million in 2025 and saw 29% job growth, while GridAKL itself contributes an estimated $424 million annually to Auckland's GDP.
The city's commitment extends beyond a single showcase. Auckland will host the New Zealand Game Developers Conference in September — the first time in nearly a decade — signaling sustained institutional support for a sector that once operated at the margins of the economic conversation. The larger story is of a city beginning to understand that its future may be built by people making games in small studios, waiting for their moment in a room full of the right people.
On June 6, Auckland's GridAKL innovation hub will open its doors again for the Indie Games Showcase, an event that has quietly become one of the city's most consequential gatherings for creative entrepreneurs. What started in 2019 as a small initiative by two gamers—Jennifer Smith and Coby Zutt, both working at GridAKL—has grown into a fixture of the local development calendar, a place where code meets capital, where ideas meet the people who can fund them.
The Showcase does something deceptively simple: it puts developers in the same room as investors, industry veterans, fellow creators, and the players whose feedback shapes the next iteration of a game. For a sector that often feels scattered across home offices and small studios, that proximity matters. It creates what one developer calls a turbocharger effect—the right collision of talent, money, and ambition at the right moment.
The proof sits in the numbers. SOMETIMES LIMITED, a local studio founded by Sofia Kotelevskaya and Andy Burusphat, demoed their game Bento Blocks at an earlier Showcase. The exposure and connections they gained there rippled outward. The game has now been downloaded more than 25,000 times. The studio is representing New Zealand games in Japan this month and preparing both a major content update and a Switch version for release. That trajectory—from demo to international presence—is not accidental. It traces back to a room full of the right people.
Shrikkanth Sreedharan, creator of the game Denari through his studio Astronaut Diaries, describes the Showcase and GridAKL's broader support as essential infrastructure. Access to co-working space, mentorship, networking events, and investor introductions transformed his studio from an idea into a fully funded operation working toward its debut release. "The events bring the right people into the room," he says, "creating those sparks that we need to improve our work, link with collaborators, and discover opportunities that are essential to our growth."
Auckland Council sees the gaming sector as a strategic economic asset. Pam Ford, General Manager of the Economic Development Office, frames it as a high-value, fast-growing industry with immense potential. Mayor Wayne Brown goes further, arguing that for Auckland to compete globally, it must back sectors like gaming that generate high-value jobs and export revenue. "This is a sector where smart ideas can turn into global products," he says, "and we should be doing everything we can to support that growth here."
The numbers support that ambition. According to the New Zealand Game Developers Association, the industry earned $759 million in 2025 and saw a 29 percent increase in job growth. That trajectory suggests the sector is not a niche concern but a genuine engine of economic activity. GridAKL itself, which opened in 2015 and provides startups with workspace, mentoring, investor access, and international business connections, contributes an estimated $424 million annually to Auckland's GDP.
The city's commitment extends beyond the June showcase. Auckland will host the New Zealand Game Developers Conference at the New Zealand International Convention Centre in September—the first time the conference has been held in the city in nearly a decade. That decision signals sustained institutional backing for a sector that, until recently, operated largely outside the mainstream economic conversation. The Indie Games Showcase returns on June 6. But the larger story is about a city recognizing that the future of its economy may well be built by people making games in small studios, waiting for their moment in a room full of the right people.
Citações Notáveis
The events bring the right people into the room, creating those sparks that we need to improve our work, link with collaborators, and discover opportunities that are essential to our growth.— Shrikkanth Sreedharan, Astronaut Diaries
For Auckland to compete internationally, we need to back industries like gaming that create high-value jobs and export income. This is a sector where smart ideas can turn into global products.— Mayor Wayne Brown
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does a city council care about indie game developers? Isn't that a niche hobby?
It's not about the hobby—it's about the economics. The sector earned $759 million last year with 29 percent job growth. These are high-value jobs that don't require massive physical infrastructure. A developer can work from anywhere and sell globally. That's exactly what a modern city wants.
So GridAKL is just a co-working space?
It's more than that. It's a deliberate collision point. Developers need investors. Investors need to see what's being built. Players need to give feedback. GridAKL creates the room where all three happen at once. SOMETIMES LIMITED wouldn't have 25,000 downloads without that exposure.
But couldn't developers just network online?
They could, but it's not the same. There's something about being in a room with someone, seeing their passion, asking questions in real time. That's where trust forms. That's where investors decide to write checks.
Is Auckland actually good at this, or is this just marketing?
The evidence is real. Studios like Astronaut Diaries went from an idea to fully funded. SOMETIMES LIMITED is now representing New Zealand in Japan. These aren't hypothetical outcomes. They're happening.
What happens after June 6?
The Showcase is one event, but GridAKL runs year-round. Then in September, Auckland hosts the national game developers conference for the first time in ten years. The city is signaling it's serious about this sector long-term, not just for one event.