Free museum entry for New Zealanders and people living in New Zealand
Open every day 10am-6pm
(except Christmas Day)
Free museum entry for New Zealanders and people living in New Zealand
A major exhibition celebrating over 50 years of play. Experience more than 30 iconic Videogames and 44 playable moments, from groundbreaking 1970s titles to today.
Curated and developed by ACMI, Game Worlds: Whakaaturanga Pureiapo | Playable Exhibition explores the worlds Videogames create, and how they’ve shaped the way we play and connect.
Journey behind the scenes of some of the world's most influential games. Discover how developers, players and technology bring these digital worlds to life.
12 Dec 2026 – 26 Apr 2027
Level 4
Adult: $30
Concession: $25
Child (5– 15): $15
Child (under 5): Free
Family (1 adult, 2 children): $55
Family (2 adult, 2 children): $75
Companion tickets (book at the Tickets desk with recipient on Level 2): Free
Buy your tickets online in advance, or on the day at the Tickets desk on Level 2.
Last same-day ticket sales at 5.15pm
All ages, includes some adult themes
60–90 mins
No time limits apply – stay, play at your own pace, pause, and retry as long as you like.
Wheelchair accessible
Overhead projections and mirrors
Dark spaces around digital screens
Touch screen interactives and 3D visuals
Information guide and map to come
Play Game Worlds Videogames in ways you can’t at home. See original builds, rare design materials and hands-on prototypes. Join a 1990s LAN party or race a record-breaking speedrunner.
Step into worlds filled with sprawling cities, thriving farms and epic adventures – and online realms that connect millions of players around the world.
Game Worlds includes international hits:
Minecraft (Mojang Studios)
Final Fantasy XIV Online (Square Enix)
World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment)
The Sims (Electronic Arts)
The Elder Scrolls Online (ZeniMax Online Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
Neopets (World of Neopia)
SimCity (Electronic Arts)
Stardew Valley (ConcernedApe)
Australian release Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry)
The exhibition also features global indie games:
Guardian Maia (Māori-led Metia Interactive) reimagines Aotearoa New Zealand through the eyes of Maia, a forest guardian
Terra Nil (Free Lives/Devolver Digital)
Celeste (Maddy Makes Games)
Historical highlights include early home-computer classics from the 1980s and 1990s, including:
The Sentinel (Geoff Crammond/Firebird)
The Hobbit (Melbourne House)
DOOM (1993) (id Software/Bethesda Softworks)
Team Fortress (Valve)
Alongside these are groundbreaking 1970s titles:
Maze War (Greg Thompson and Dave Lebling)
Colossal Cave Adventure (William Crowther)
Zork (Infocom)
ACMI is Australia’s museum of screen culture and the home of videogames. Over 20 years, ACMI has championed video games across its programming, and spported the sector through preservation, education and industry partnerships.
Credits: (01) The EIderScrolls Online (ZeniMax Online Studios/ Bethesda Softworks), (02) Minecraft (Mojang Studios), (03) Final Fantasy XIV Online (Square Enix), (04) World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment), (05) SimCity (Electronic Arts), (06) Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry), (07) 2pt Interactive (2pt Interactive), (08) The Sims (Electronic Arts), (09) Terra Nil (Free Lives/Devolver Digital), (10) Celeste (Maddy Makes Games), (11) Stardew Valley (ConcernedApe), (12) Neopets (World of Neopia), (13) Isopod (SbugGames)
Find more games to play at Te Papa after visiting Game Worlds, or ones to play from home.
Step into the whare and play Kahurangiariki Smith’s artwork – a videogame called MāoriGirl that tells the story of Hine-tītama and her transformation into Hine-nui-te-pō, the goddess of the afterworld. As Hine-tītama, she gives life. As Hine-nui-te-pō, she receives those who have passed on.
The tuna (longfin eel) makes incredible, challenging journeys as part of its life cycle – with odds stacked against it. Steer your longfin tuna on the journey of its lifetime from when it's born right through to an adult from the tuna’s perspective.
Explore Te Taiao | Nature in a new way with an interactive mobile guide. Take on challenges with Māui the adventurer, innovator, and shapeshifter and search for the unique animals and plants of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Climate Converter – where ideas become action. Work together with friends to keep sea-level rise and drought away, find out what others have pledged to do for the environment, and then choose your pledge for a carbon-zero Aotearoa New Zealand.
Take a moment or two to relax with online jigsaw puzzles using taonga from our collections. Come back frequently to find new ones!
Jigsaw puzzles, activity books, hundreds of hours of videos covering Aotearoa New Zealand’s vast history, quizzes, deepdives into specialist topics, whānau challenges, and inspiration points to keep you active at home.
Jonah Lomu was a game changer on the field and in the world of popular culture. Part of the podcast series Ours. Pacific Curator Sean Mallon and Julian Wilcox talk about an example of his digital legacy, the PlayStation game Jonah Lomu Rugby.
