Thanks To Path Of Exile And Mobile Games, New Zealand Games Industry Has Doubled Since 2017

The New Zealand Game Developers Association announced that the country's games industry has doubled in revenue over the past two years, thanks to strong showings from mobile games like Bloons TD 6 and the popular action-RPG Path of Exile. These figures come from the results of a national survey which collected data from 39 different gaming companies across multiple segments of the industry, including VR and educational technology.

"What we're seeing are the fruits of the last generation of New Zealand interactive studios' hard work. Our opportunity is to support the next generation of creative tech companies to join them," said New Zealand Game Developers Association Chairperson Cassandra Gray.

According to the survey, 59% of the studios expect greater than 10% growth in the next year. The New Zealand games industry has enjoyed an average growth of 39% year-on-year. If it continues at this rate, the industry could collect $1 billion in annual revenue by the middle of the decade.

Since its release in 2013, Grinding Gear Games' Diablo-esque Path of Exile has been one of the most popular free-to-play games on PC. Late last year, the studio announced Path of Exile 2, which is a major expansion that will totally overhaul the game, including an entirely new story. Don't hold your breath, however: Grinding Gear says it doesn't expect to start beta testing the game until late 2020.