Dinosaur Polo Club has announced that Mini Motorways will receive a full te reo Māori language update on Tuesday, giving its nine million players around the world the chance to play the game in Aotearoa’s indigenous language.
The update is released during Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori; it includes te reo Māori across the game’s interface and gameplay. The game has also been gifted a new te reo Māori name, Rori Riki, by te reo Māori translation company Kūwaha Ltd.
“Receiving the name ‘Rori Riki’ was a real privilege. Te reo Māori is part of our distinct cultural identity here in Aotearoa, and we didn’t want to treat this translation as just another localisation with words hotswapped from a dictionary,” says Peter Curry.
A new name, a new milestone
The project was developed through a collaboration between Kūwaha and the Mini Motorways team, including Head of Art Shalee Fitzsimmons (Ngāti Tūwharetoa), who leads the studio’s Māori and tikanga initiatives.
Rather than simply translating the existing game, the team focused on introducing te reo Māori in a way that respects the language and its place in Aotearoa.
More than just a translation
“We didn’t want to just bolt te reo onto Motorways; we wanted it to be authentic. Working with Kristin and the team at Kūwaha on translations and having Ako Academy in the studio has helped us embed tikanga into how we work, and te reo into the worlds we create,” says Fitzsimmons.
The update also reflects a wider push to bring te reo Māori into spaces where people spend their everyday lives. With millions of people playing Mini Motorways around the world, the studio says the update is an opportunity to share a part of Aotearoa with an international audience, while giving local players another way to engage with te reo Māori.
The update comes seven years after Mini Motorways first launched and continues Dinosaur Polo Club’s commitment to providing free updates for its players.
Product Marketing Manager Ben Emerson says it’s important to celebrate te reo Māori
“We’re incredibly proud to be launching this update during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. Te reo Māori is an official language of Aotearoa New Zealand and an important part of who we are. Making ‘Mini Motorways’ available in te reo Māori felt like a meaningful way to celebrate that and to share a part of Aotearoa.”
From Wellington to the world
Founded in Wellington in 2013 by brothers Robert and Peter Curry, Dinosaur Polo Club has grown from a three-person team into a studio of more than 30 people.
The studio is also behind Mini Metro, which received a BAFTA nomination, while Mini Motorways has picked up international recognition, including an Audience Award at the Independent Games Festival in 2022.
Rori Riki (Mini Motorways) is available on Apple Arcade, Nintendo Switch and Steam for PC and Mac. The te reo Māori update is free for players worldwide.
