New Zealand gov't aims to 'claw back' $3M grant to Gameloft

Last week New Zealand government agency Callaghan Innovation noted on Twitter that it could (and would) cancel a ~$3M grant it had given to Gameloft in 2014 after the French game company abruptly shuttered its New Zealand studio.

The government agency is expected to try and recover some or all of that money under a "claw-back provision" of the grant, according to a Radio New Zealand report. Callaghan pours grant money into local tech businesses, including game companies, so any funding it recovers from Gameloft could potentially go right back into the New Zealand game development scene. 

That's significant since Callaghan estimates the closure of Gameloft's local studio eliminated ~150 jobs from the New Zealand game industry, which New Zealand Game Developers Association chairman Stephen Knightly estimated (to a Stuff reporter) put roughly a fifth of New Zealand's game developers out of work.

In the same report, Callaghan Innovation representative Iain Butler noted that the agency will be demanding Gameloft repay the $2.9 million R&D grant it received in 2014 under the aforementioned "claw-back" clause in its contract.