The NZ Game Studio Funding Stack: GDSR, CODE, NZTE and What Fits When
New Zealand game studios have access to more public support than most founders realise — and the support map is genuinely confusing, because the pieces were built at different times for different problems. This guide lays out the full stack as it stands in 2026: what each layer is for, who it fits, and how the layers combine. The short version: there is a sensible sequence, and studios that work the sequence fund more of their build at better terms than studios that discover each piece by accident.
In short: Early-stage studios below the GDSR threshold should look at CODE for incubation and grants, and at Regional Business Partners co-funding for advisory support. Studios past $250k of annual eligible spend should be claiming the GDSR every year — 20 percent back, capped at $3m. Studios with export traction add NZTE. Publisher advances and platform deals remain the largest commercial layer and come with their own disciplines. The layers serve different purposes and most combine legitimately.
The stack, layer by layer
GDSR — the headline lever. The Game Development Sector Rebate pays 20 percent of approved eligible expenditure, with a $250k annual minimum to qualify and a $3m per-studio cap, from a $40m annual pool. MBIE owns the policy; NZ On Air administers it. It is retrospective — spend first, claim after the 1 April to 31 March year closes. Roughly $22.4m went to 40 studios in 2025, up from 33 studios the year before. If your studio clears the threshold and is not claiming, you are leaving a fifth of your eligible spend unrecovered.
CODE — the early-stage layer. The Centre of Digital Excellence is the government-backed incubator for early-stage studios — Dunedin-led but national in reach — offering structured programmes and grants at the stage where the GDSR threshold is still out of reach. For a two-to-five person studio with a first commercial title in development, CODE is usually the right starting point on the public side.
NZTE — the export layer. NZ Trade and Enterprise supports companies scaling internationally. Given that around 95 percent of NZ game sector revenue is export, studios with real overseas traction — a shipped title, an international publisher relationship, storefront revenue in multiple markets — should be in the NZTE conversation for market development support.
Callaghan Innovation — the layer that mostly is not one. Callaghan’s R&D support has historically been a poor fit for game software — a gap that is part of why the GDSR was created in Budget 2023. Studios doing genuine novel-technology R&D alongside game development can still explore it, but for most studios the GDSR has replaced this conversation.
RBP — the advisory layer. Regional Business Partners co-funding supports capability building, including senior business advisory, for GST-registered businesses with fewer than 50 full-time staff. For Auckland studios this can offset the first three months of an advisory engagement. It funds the commercial discipline around the studio rather than the build itself, which makes it complementary to everything above.
The commercial layer. Publisher advances, platform deals and private capital remain the largest funding source for most studios mid-build. They are also the layer with the sharpest terms — recoupment, milestone gating, IP rights — and deserve their own discipline, covered in our guide to managing front-loaded revenue.
What fits at which stage
Pre-threshold (under $250k annual spend): CODE for programme and grants; RBP for advisory co-funding; keep clean records from day one so the first GDSR claim is straightforward when you cross the line. Crossing the threshold: claim the GDSR annually, build the documentation rhythm into monthly bookkeeping, and plan the timing gap deliberately. Export traction: add NZTE. Scaling the team past ten people: this is where senior advisory earns its keep — runway, hiring discipline and deal sequencing, with the alliance network covering banking, legal and finance introductions.
Stacking rules
The layers mostly combine because they fund different things: GDSR reimburses development expenditure, CODE supports early capability, NZTE funds export development, RBP co-funds advisory. Two disciplines keep the stack honest. First, claim hygiene — the same dollar of expenditure should be clearly attributed in your records to whichever scheme it belongs to. Second, strategy first — the stack should fund the studio you are building, not reshape the studio around whatever is fundable. A subsidy-shaped studio is fragile the day the subsidy changes.
Where Strategize Auckland fits
Strategize Auckland works with Auckland studio owners as the fortnightly senior advisor across exactly these decisions — which layers to work, in what sequence, with what documentation rhythm, and how the funding plan connects to runway and hiring. We are advisors, not grant agents: the value is the commercial discipline around the stack, not form-filling. For eligible studios, RBP co-funding applies to the engagement itself.
Book a 15-minute call: strategizeauckland.info/book-online · 027 737 2858 · steve@strategize.co.nz · Strategize Auckland · Level 1, 55 Corinthian Drive, Albany 0632 · RBP-accredited
Figures in this article: NZGDA 2025 industry survey; NZ On Air GDSR scheme documentation; MBIE. Verified May 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Can a studio claim the GDSR and work with CODE at the same time? The schemes serve different stages and purposes — CODE supports early-stage capability while the GDSR reimburses eligible development expenditure past the $250k threshold. Keep attribution clean in your records and take scheme-specific eligibility advice as part of each application.
What is the minimum spend to qualify for the GDSR? At least $250k of eligible expenditure within the 1 April to 31 March eligibility year, with the rebate paying 20 percent of approved spend up to a $3m annual cap per studio.
Does RBP funding apply to game studios? Yes, where the studio is GST-registered with fewer than 50 full-time staff and the engagement is genuine capability building such as senior business advisory. For Auckland studios it can offset the first three months of an advisory engagement.
What funding should a brand-new NZ studio look at first? CODE for structured incubation and early grants, RBP for advisory co-funding, and disciplined record-keeping from day one so the first GDSR claim is clean when annual eligible spend crosses $250k.
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