A $2 Million Investment

New-Zealand Investment Firm Hillfarrance Invests $2 Million In NZ Game Industry

New Zealand based investment fund Hillfarrance have recently increased their investment in contemporary independent video game studio ‘Hashbane Interactive’ to $2 million - enabling the studio to enter the next stage of development on their upcoming break-through prehistoric action-and-adventure videogame, Instinction.

Hashbane Interactive is the latest in a string of fantastic entrepreneurial start-ups to receive support from Hillfarrance – with the likes of Floating Rock, Bolster and Space Rock Games all also receiving support from the company.

When asked about working with Hashbane, Rob Vickery, Hillfarrance Managing Partner & Founder, said:

“With over 50 years of combined gaming experience at Hillfarrance, when we meet a team building a game that we cannot wait to play they certainly get our attention. This happened when Jade and Courtney presented what they had already accomplished with Hashbane’s first title, Instinction. Aside from crafting a story and gameplay demo that kept us wanting more, they had captured the imagination of millions of gamers worldwide via their launch trailer. Equally as impressive was their ability to build partnerships with some of the titans of the gaming industry – such as Epic and Intel.

” Rob went on to talk about increasing Hillfarrance’s contribution to the company, and what he hopes it will mean for the gaming industry in New Zealand as a whole:

“We are delighted to increase our investment into Hashbane to $2m and help fund the expansion of our team to complete the next phase of game development. In what we believe is the largest ever video game studio investment from an NZ-based venture fund, we are helping lay the foundations for a new, Triple-A game development studio with a wildly audacious vision.

This vision is attracting some of the most exciting talent in the industry to our shores, whilst also bringing the world’s eyeballs to our burgeoning game economy. Perhaps more importantly to our purpose-driven fund, Hashbane will also hopefully encourage our youth to seek our careers in game development and the creative economy.”

The investment has already made a huge difference to Hashbane Interactive – with the company bringing on Cameron Suey as one of Instinction’s Narrative Designers. Cameron’s previous work includes narrative work on Marvel’s Avengers, Shadow of the Tomb Raider and other titles – bringing a wealth of storytelling experience to the Hashbane team.

Sanjay Singh has also joined the team as their Lead 3D Artist – with his portfolio including the role of Lead Creature Model & Sculpt Artist on Prehistoric Planet, as well as work on other film and television productions including Godzilla vs. Kong, Artemis Fowl and Aquaman.

When asked about the latest additions to the team, Courtney O’Neill and Jade Saunders, founders of Hashbane Interactive, said:

“We are so grateful to our partners at Hillfarrance for empowering us to attract the best and brightest in the industry to work on Instinction. This game is a passion project – and having the backing of such a powerful investment firm has given us the freedom to really invest in this game and this franchise to make it the best game we can.

We are incredibly excited to be leading on a new frontier for Game Development in New Zealand – and hope that this game will show a whole new generation of potential game developers that there is opportunity and possibility within our creative industry.”

The $2 million investment will help Hashbane Interactive to assemble a world-class team – allowing even more skilled AAA developers from across the industry to join the team within the next few months. Instinction is currently projected to release at some point in 2025, and will be available on PC, last-generation and current-generation consoles.