Geo AR Games

What Geo AR Games does

Geo AR Games is a New Zealand-based game studio founded in 2015 that specializes in geospatial augmented reality experiences and serious games for social impact. The company describes itself as one of the few game studios in the world "100% dedicated to games for change," developing geolocated AR experiences, interactive simulations, and gamified learning platforms that address topics including climate change adaptation, disaster preparedness, cultural heritage, environmental education, animal welfare, and personal wellbeing. Its client base spans local governments (Auckland Council, Wellington City Council, San Antonio, SA Water), national research institutes (NIWA, University of Auckland, Earth Sciences New Zealand), nonprofits and charities (IHC New Zealand, NZ Cat Foundation, Landcare New Zealand), and emergency management agencies (NEMA, Get Ready NZ).

The studio's flagship product, Magical Park, is described as the world's first geolocated augmented reality playground, transforming public parks into interactive family experiences by overlaying game content on real-world locations via mobile devices. The broader portfolio includes thematic games such as Future Coasts and My Coastal Futures (climate simulation developed with NIWA), Township Flood Challenge and What's the Plan Stan (disaster preparedness), Sandflat Heroes (marine ecosystem education with the University of Auckland), Stand Tall (neurodiversity wellbeing with IHC NZ), Cat Angels Triumph (animal welfare with the NZ Cat Foundation), Kiwi Kai (sustainable food systems), and Benefit Sharing Compass (community benefit-sharing frameworks). The underlying platform is a proprietary system for authoring geolocated AR experiences in public spaces, purpose-built for social impact and educational applications rather than adapted from a generic AR SDK.

Geo AR Games operates as a B2B project-based service studio rather than a scaled SaaS or consumer gaming business. Revenue is generated through custom game development engagements commissioned by public sector, research, and nonprofit clients, with additional development funded through grants; games are distributed free to end users via web browsers and app stores. Pricing is quote-based on a per-project basis and is not publicly disclosed. The company employs 1-10 people, operates from a single Auckland headquarters at Grid Akl/John Lysaght Building, and is founder-led by CEO Melanie Langlotz with no disclosed venture capital backing and only one small disclosed capital event (a NZD 5,589 Callaghan Innovation grant in October 2020).

Name

Geo AR Games

Legal name

Geo AR Games

Website

https://geoargames.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Geo AR Games is an Auckland studio building geolocated AR and serious games for social impact, serving governments, research institutes, nonprofits, and cultural institutions via project commissions. Portfolio includes Magical Park AR playground, climate simulations, disaster preparedness games, and wellbeing apps.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Serious Games and Social Impact AR

NAICS

Amusement Parks and Arcades (7131)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

VR/AR Gaming Platforms (BPAMAKAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

AR/VR & Immersive Learning Content Development (EDAGAKAI), VR/AR Game Publishing & Distribution (MPAFABAK), Immersive/Interactive Animation (AR/VR/Real-Time) (MPAHACAN), Mobile/Digital Experiential (AR/VR, Interactive Installations) (MPAAAGAI)

Keywords

• Geospatial augmented reality
• Serious games development
• Social impact gaming
• AR game studio
• Location-based games

Headquarters

HQ city

Auckland

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Project-based Game Development: Geo AR Games works with organizations (cities, charities, museums, researchers, community groups) to develop custom AR games and simulations. They provide end-to-end services from concept to launch, suggesting project-based revenue from custom development engagements.
2. Free Games with Organizational Partnerships: They offer free games (Cat Angels Triumph, Future Coasts, Kiwi Kai, etc.) developed in partnership with organizations like NIWA, suggesting funded development through grants or commissioned work rather than direct consumer monetization.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Geo AR Games is a B2B game studio that designs, develops, and deploys geospatial augmented reality games, simulations, and gamified learning experiences for social impact. It offers a portfolio of proprietary products (led by Magical Park, the world's first geolocated AR playground) alongside end-to-end custom game development services for cities, charities, museums, researchers, and community groups. Games are delivered as free mobile and web experiences, with revenue earned primarily through commissioned project work from partner organizations.

Product overview

Geo AR Games is a game studio 100% dedicated to games for change, offering a portfolio of distinct AR and simulation products. The core offering includes Magical Park (geolocated AR playground) as a flagship product, complemented by thematic games addressing climate/environment (Future Coasts, My Coastal Futures, Sandflat Heroes), disaster preparedness (Township Flood Challenge, What's the Plan Stan), personal wellbeing (Stand Tall, Cat Angels Triumph), and sustainable living (Kiwi Kai). The company also provides end-to-end service offerings including concept workshops, agile development, pitch deck creation, marketing toolkits, and post-launch analytics for partners seeking custom social impact games.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Magical Park: World's first geolocated augmented reality playground, transforming public parks into interactive AR experiences.

Products and services

• Magical Park World's first geolocated augmented reality playground that turns public parks into interactive adventures, enabling families to experience AR experiences in outdoor public spaces. Deployed with city councils including Auckland and Wellington.
• Cat Angels Triumph Educational web game teaching cat owners responsible ownership practices and animal welfare, developed in collaboration with the NZ Cat Foundation.
• Sandflat Heroes Interactive simulation that brings Aotearoa's marine ecosystems and sandflat environments to life, designed for experiential learners to understand real-world ecological connections. Co-developed with the University of Auckland.
• Future Coasts Climate simulation experience exploring coastal futures and community-wide solutions for climate change adaptation, developed with NIWA (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research).
• My Coastal Futures Interactive experience that enables individuals to explore choices for coastal adaptation and community-wide climate solutions, in partnership with NIWA.
• Township Flood Challenge Disaster preparedness game simulating flood scenarios to help communities understand risk and develop response strategies, developed with NIWA.
• What's the Plan Stan Disaster preparedness game designed to engage communities and schools in emergency planning and response, partnered with NEMA and Get Ready NZ.
• Stand Tall Mobile app developed for neurodiverse young people to support personal wellbeing and development, partnered with IHC New Zealand.
• Kiwi Kai Virtual farm experience that explores sustainable food systems and local food production.
• Benefit Sharing Compass Interactive tool designed to help communities understand and navigate benefit sharing frameworks.
• Geo AR Games Custom Development Services End-to-end game development service offering for organizations, covering concept workshops, agile development, internal pitch decks, marketing toolkits, and post-launch analytics for social impact projects.

Quantifiable outcome

• Games trusted in over 150 cities globally
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NIWA (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNIWA collaborated with Geo AR Games on Future Coasts and My Coastal Futures - climate simulation games that help communities understand coastal changes and adaptation options. Dr. Scott Stephens, Chief Scientist for Coasts and Estuaries at NIWA, endorsed the project's impact on community understanding of climate choices.
• University of AucklandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Auckland collaborated on Sandflat Heroes, an interactive simulation bringing marine ecosystems to life. Prof. Simon Thrush from the university endorsed the game's value for experiential learners.
• Auckland CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAuckland Council partnered on Magical Park, deploying geolocated AR experiences in public parks across the city to activate community engagement.
• IHC New ZealandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIHC partnered on Stand Tall app, developed specifically for neurodiverse young people to support personal wellbeing and development.
• NZ Cat FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNZ Cat Foundation partnered on Cat Angels Triumph, an educational game about responsible cat ownership. Founder Anne Batley Burton endorsed it as an amazing educational tool.
• Earth Sciences New ZealandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEarth Sciences New Zealand features Geo AR Games' serious games as tools for engaging people with climate and weather information.
• Get Ready NZminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGet Ready NZ partnered on What's the Plan Stan, a disaster preparedness game for schools and communities.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Filament Games: US-based studio building educational and impact-focused games for museums, NGOs, and government clients. Closest comparable in mission, customer base, and product type, with a similar custom-development model.
• Schell Games: Pittsburgh studio specializing in 'transformational games' for education, training, and social impact. Overlaps with Geo AR on AR/VR serious-game development for institutional clients.
• Funomena: Independent studio creating playful AR/interactive experiences with social-impact themes. Smaller, mission-aligned peer operating in adjacent AR-experience territory.
• Make Real: UK studio building immersive VR/AR training, simulation, and learning experiences for enterprise and public-sector clients. Direct overlap on geolocated and immersive serious games.
• Serious Games Interactive: Danish developer of serious games for education, healthcare, and social learning. Comparable as a small studio producing games-for-change for institutional clients across multiple verticals.
• Toca Boca: Playful digital play company focused on child-friendly, accessible games with educational themes. Comparable as a mission-driven, design-led studio creating playful experiences for institutional and consumer audiences.

Broad incumbents

• PBS Kids Games: Educational games platform tied to public broadcasting; represents the scaled institutional/mission-driven children's and educational gaming benchmark. Comparable audience (children, schools, public-sector distribution) though not a custom studio.
• Niantic: Global leader in geolocated AR games (Pokémon GO, Ingress). Same core technology (GPS-anchored AR gameplay) as Geo AR's Magical Park, but at vastly greater scale and with consumer-facing monetization rather than social-impact B2B.

Emerging players

• Marshmallow Laser Feast: Studio producing immersive AR/VR installations for cultural institutions, museums, and public spaces. Comparable in deploying AR experiences into physical public venues for cultural and educational impact.
• Immersive VR Education: Develops VR/AR educational and training simulations, including disaster response and civic scenarios. Comparable use cases (disaster preparedness, civic education) but VR- rather than geolocated AR-first.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCuDO2yCe3x0hcuaaI9wI_Zg
• Facebookfacebook.com/geoargames
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/geoargames
• Xx.com/geoargames

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Geo AR Games