Maru Nihoniho is the founder and managing director of Metia Interactive,[1] and is also the designer and developer of several video games such as Sparx.
[4] Following Cube's release, Nihoniho was approached by the University of Auckland to develop a self-help game to combat depression.
[3] Nihoniho went on to develop several games, such as Guardian Maia, with the stated goal of introducing others to Māori culture.
[3] Nihoniho won the New Zealand Order of Merit 2016 for her work in gaming and mental health.
She was named Innovator of the year in the 2017 MCV Pacific Women in Games Awards, presented by Xbox.