Niantic Aotearoa

Niantic Aotearoa, formerly NZXR, was a Wellington-based development studio working in augmented reality, mixed reality and spatial computing. Established in 2020, it brought together developers with experience building interactive experiences for mobile devices and mixed-reality headsets. Its work combined interaction design, multiplayer systems, hardware integration and spatial user experience design.

The founding team had previously spent more than five years leading Magic Leap’s Wellington development studio. After that operation closed during restructuring in early 2020, the team established NZXR to continue developing mobile and headset-based augmented reality. This background informed the studio’s focus on experiences that connect digital content with physical environments.

Interactive experiences and technology

Before its acquisition, NZXR collaborated with hardware companies and interactive entertainment developers on demonstrations, games and installations. Its projects included The Great Crane Cake Off, a multi-user AR demonstration developed with Qualcomm; AR mechanics for Reality Crisis’s skateboarding game Skatrix; and Destination Mars, an interactive museum and theatre experience.

The studio also worked extensively with Niantic on real-world multiplayer AR frameworks. Its capabilities covered application prototyping and production, cross-platform hardware and software integration, location-based multiplayer engineering, and custom interactive software development. Its technical work encompassed shared spatial interactions, world reconstruction, mesh scanning and visual positioning systems.

Acquisition and subsequent history

Niantic acquired NZXR on 5 April 2022. The studio joined Niantic’s visual and interaction design teams, contributing to multiplayer augmented reality experiences and development of the Lightship ARDK platform. The business subsequently operated under the Niantic Aotearoa name.

Following Niantic’s 2025 corporate reorganization, the company transitioned to Niantic Spatial ownership. Its Wellington studio operations closed in July 2026 as Niantic Spatial redirected resources toward enterprise spatial technology and physical AI. As of November 2026, the New Zealand legal entity remained registered, despite the end of its physical studio operations.