Dean Hall, originally of Oamaru but now living in London, is returning to New Zealand to set up a gaming studio, called RocketWerkz, after the massive success of the zombie survival game he created, DayZ, which has sold more than 3 million copies.
He has employed six full-time staff to work in his Dunedin studio, which officially opens on March 2, but that was just the start of his vision.
''I strongly believe video game development can be a billion-dollar industry for New Zealand.
''What Sir Peter Jackson did for film in New Zealand, I hope to do for video games. I'm doing that with my money. And I'm doing it in Dunedin,'' Mr Hall said yesterday.
The staff in Dunedin would be working on prototypes for two projects, but he envisaged 50 staff being based in the city. He had plans for a second round of hiring, for programmers, artists and support staff, and a second studio in Queenstown for other projects.
He said it was only natural to start in Dunedin, because of the support he had received from people based in the city.
''I really could not have dealt with the phenomenal success and change in my life when my previous video game, DayZ, became a viral success without the support of ANZ Private in Dunedin, Lawyers Anderson Lloyd, and ... the team at Crowe Horwath.''
There was also good quality staff available in Dunedin.
''[As a] University of Otago graduate myself, I think there is a great pool of talent in Dunedin that I would like to tap into.
''Most of the first people in the team I have hired, from over 500 applications we received, are new graduates,'' he said.
He was also thankful for the assistance he had received from Ian Taylor and the team at Taylormade Productions and Animation Research Ltd.
His office in Dunedin would be alongside the Animation Research Ltd team in Dowling St.
