Games

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1st in the UK for Games Design and Development

Rookies Global School Rankings for Games Design and Development, 2023, 2025

Best Educational Institution for Games

TIGA Games Industry Awards 2024 and 2025

1st in the UK for career prospects

Games School Ranking by GAMEducation 2023 and 2024

Study at the UK’s No. 1 university for games and find your gateway to a career in the largest entertainment industry of the 21st century.

In the past five years, more than 700 of our graduates have contributed to every aspect of game development – from concept art to programming and production. They can be found working for indies and industry giants such as Rockstar Games, Naughty Dog and Sumo Digital.

It all started at University of Staffordshire, where they also made connections with the likes of Epic Games and Sony Entertainment.

At our award-winning institution, we are as passionate about the design and build of games as we are about playing them. As a student here, you could be creating your own games in our in-house studio and being mentored by industry professionals.

You’ll also have the chance to access placements with companies such as Unity, Codemasters and Sports Interactive. It will help you build invaluable networks for your future career.

We host the annual Ukie Student Conference too, which represents the leading games trade body and gives students a chance to gain industry insights and make contacts. And we’re also home to the UK’s largest Global Games Jam.

Courses

Related courses

Why study with us?

Whatever stage of game design, development, creation or management you’re interested in, you will get the experience and total immersion you need. We are:

  • One of the largest games institutes in the world​
  • Accredited by industry body TIGA​
  • An Unreal Authorised Training Centre
  • A Houdini-certified partner​, giving you a free licence to use specialist software
  • Winners of multiple national awards for student projects
  • One of the largest dedicated motion capture studios in UK education​
  • Host to some of UK’s largest student games conferences​

We have more than 80 specialist lecturers who bring a wealth of real-world experience. Our staff include experts in every area of the industry, ranging from narrative design and creature concept art to visual effects and production.

Each year, we also welcome 100+ guest speakers from across the games industry and beyond. You can hear about their experiences and career journeys.

Best Games Education in the UK

We have been named Best Educational Institution at the TIGA Games Industry Awards 2025, for the second year in a row.

Careers and connections

Our graduates can be found working at virtually every major studio around, with many returning to support and inspire the next generation of students.

We also work with lots of industry partners, including the likes of Epic Games and Sony Entertainment. It’s all about helping you to develop the connections that will open doors to your career. Our projects include:

  • 1UP, our award-winning in-house studio, where students work alongside staff to build market-ready games
  • One-to-one mock interviews with industry professionals
  • A games industry mentorship scheme, where you’ll have regular chats and receive tips on what studios look for in employees
  • Acting as a hub for Tranzfuser, which supports graduates in developing their own indie studios and original game projects
  • Paid work experience opportunities as student demonstrators, who help students in other year groups
The lecturers have so much industry experience, and University of Staffordshire is a gateway to so many amazing job opportunities in the games industry.
Louis Whitehouse

Computer Games Design and Programming

Our students

The lecturers are great – they always push you to do the best.

To anyone considering the Games Art course at Staffs I couldn’t recommend it more. The lecturers are great – they always push you to do the best and the subject matter is so interesting. If you want to be a character artist, there’s modules there. It goes beyond just the modules – there’s life drawing classes and there’s such a variety of different things you can be learning.

Ryan Jackson

BA (Hons) Games Art

The people were the best part of my time at Staffs.

The people were the best part of my time at Staffs. All the lecturers and most of the students were people who had a passion for games as well as thoroughly enjoy programming, and a majority of the assignments reflected this, with even the classically less enjoyable areas of programming like networking being made more enjoyable with gamification.

The computers at the University are up-to-date with multiple monitors which makes it very nice to use them for programming. The University also has things like VR Kits that are useable if you request. 

Jamie Coogan

Graduate, BSc (Hons) Computer Games Programming

The lecturers here have always been extremely helpful and easy to contact.

The facilities here have been great, I’ve never had any issues finding capable computers to work on and have also been able to make use of the motion capture studio we have here. Also having a 24/7 games lab in the library is a great addition.

The lecturers here have always been extremely helpful and easy to contact. They often put their own time into ensuring you get the support you need.

 

Ryan Hall

Student, BSc (Hons) Computer Games Design

The best part of the course is working with lecturers who have industry experience.

Having an Epic Games lab, where all the computers are funded by Epic Games is very useful to have. There are also 24/7 labs with dual monitors and fast PCs, which is a HUGE help when working in the programs used for the course.

The best part of the course is working with lecturers who have industry experience; they teach exactly what you need for you to get your desirable job. If you ask them a question, you will find that they will answer your question and 10 other questions you might have had because they have so much great advice.

Staffs is a gateway to so many amazing jobs that you might never have thought were possible. 

Louis Whitehouse

BSc (Hons) Computer Games Design and Programming

The most useful facility for me was the industry standard software such as Photoshop, Maya, Zbrush and Unreal Engine.

The most useful facility for me was the industry standard software such as Photoshop, Maya, Zbrush and Unreal Engine. If I was not a student these pieces of software would either cost a lot more or not even be available for me to use, unless I paid some hefty license fees. The fact these programs were available at the uni classrooms and from my home computer, was extremely helpful as there was a lot of work I needed to do outside of lectures.

The staff here have been great - very supportive and helpful whenever you need them. Feedback was always constructive and in depth, I always knew how to change my work to improve it. 

Sam Horsley

BA (Hons) Concept Art for Games and Film

The course content always feels like you are learning skills that will have benefits and uses in the games industry.

The best thing about the course is that we are able to make games, not just write about them and think about them and forget them, but actually make what we want to make. The lecturers are insightful, knowledgeable and fun. They have made the journey and filled it with character. 

The course content always feels like you are learning skills that will have benefits and uses in the games industry. For example learning Jira (product management tool) is super useful and not taught in other places. 

Scott Billyeald Doughty

Student, BSc (Hons) Computer Games Design

Features

Sector-Leading Employability Practice in Games: Conversations with UCAS

Sector-Leading Employability Practice in Games. Professor Chris Headleand shares how industry partnerships, flexible placements and careers-first design shape confident, future-ready graduates.

Industry-Led Mock Interviews for Game Students

At University of Staffordshire, we prepare our students for their career journey by organising our award-winning industry led Mock Interviews for all of our final year game students.
Hands drawing

Unlocking creativity: Life drawing experiences for Games students

At the Games Institute, we emphasise the importance of hands-on, observational learning for developing creative skills.

Facilities

If you’re looking to break into the video games industry, you’re going to need the tools to build and showcase your talents - our TIGA accredited courses enable you to develop your knowledge and perfect your skills in outstanding facilities like our Epic Games Lab, as well as animation studios, competitive rigs and broadcasting equipment, plus much more.

Learn with the latest technology

You'll learn in facilities with the latest technology, just like you would find in industry. You'll have a dedicated motion capture studio, high-end computers and software specifically for games creation at your disposal. We also have PlayStation developer kits and virtual reality equipment, like the HTC Vive and Oculus available for you to use.

Industry-led facilities

Whatever you choose to study, you’ll be working in a state-of-the-art environment within our £11m Cadman Studios. Explore your artistic creativity on the latest games development software in our games labs, create, develop and test VR and AR solutions in our VR, AR and Mixed Reality Lab. If you choose to study esports you will access our Pro Gamer training facility in our dedicated Esports Lab, or immerse yourself in cutting edge low-level APIs such as DirectX and OpenGL, as well as hands-on experience with industry hardware such as the Sony PlayStation 4 in our Epic Games Design Centre.

Games Labs

Our world-class games development studios are fully equipped with the latest industry-standard software and hardware to give you a professional design and programming experience.

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Motion Capture Studio

Realistically capture multiple human movements simultaneously for the creation of high-quality games, animation and VFX sequences. Our industry standard facility features a 24-camera rig, Vicon hardware and Cara facial performance capture headset. This facility hosts sessions that show students how to set up and prepare shoots at a high industry level.

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VR, AR and Mixed Reality Lab

The VR, AR and Mixed Reality Lab is equipped with a number of HTC Vive Virtual Reality headsets and a dedicated development area to create, develop and test VR solutions. 

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Games and Concept Art Labs

Explore your artistic creativity on the latest games development software in our Games and Concept Art Labs. Our industry quality workstations come complete with Wacom Intuos Pro mediums or 13QHD Cintiq tablets.

Smart Zone

A bustling centre of invention, innovation and creation with two floors of dedicated workshop and collaboration spaces for engineering and creative students. Read more

The Smart Zone fuses state-of-the-art fabrication spaces with augmented and blended reality facilities, allowing you to bring your ideas to life using the latest digital and immersive technologies. Find out more about our Smart Zone.
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Animation Studios

Our well-equipped Animation studios house a number of resources allowing for a number of Animation methods. Read more

Including: Cintiq Suites for 2D and 3D Digital animation, 4K edit Suite, Sound Recording booth, access to Motion Capture technology and dual-screen PC digital suite with access to software including MAYA and TOON BOOM.

Join Course Leader Stuart Messinger for a tour around our Animation Studios.
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Global Games Jam

We host the UK's largest Global Games Jam site (Over 200 Jammers!) aimed at cultivating and fostering Innovation, Experimentation, Collaboration. Read more

Our students and members of the general public take part in a three day event developing digital or analogue games in their own teams using our Cadman Studios where our Games and VFX courses are run. It is a fantastic experience - the opportunity to meet new friends and make games based on a super-secret yearly theme from the Global Games Jam group!
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PlayStation Academic Development Programme

Our membership of this programme means you will have access to the professional PlayStation software development kit (SDK) and development hardware, including PS4 and PS5 dev kits.

Multiplatform Newsrooms

Our multi-platform newsrooms house 76 iMacs complete with all the software necessary for multi-platform journalism including Adobe Creative Suite.

CGI Workshop

The centre of post production in the animation department, boasting a number of Apple edit suites and industry standard animation software.

Virtual Production Studio

The Virtual Production Studio allows the combination of real-time games graphics with traditional film and video production techniques. Read more

Students are able to utilise the Virtual Production studio which comes complete with a 10m x 2.75m curved LED volume made of DigiLED DigiThin XS 2600 panels, Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12k camera with 35mm, 50mm and 85mm lenses, Vanishing Point Vector and Viper camera tracking systems, full RGB lighting system including LED Cloud, 1x Celeb 850, 1x Diva-Lite 41, 5x Diva-Lite 31 and 5x Q5 Color all controllable through a ChamSys MagicQ lighting desk, VR Scouting system using a HTC Vive Pro and audio system with speakers around the screen. HP workstations allow the process to be facilitated end-to-end by Unreal Engine to use photorealistic environments.
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Expertise

Professor Christopher Headleand

Head Of Department - Sugi

Prof. Headleand is a Computing & Video Games academic with over 20 years' experience; internationally recognised as an expert in student engagement. He is head of Games Design & Technology & researches Virtual Reality, Visualisation & Serious Games.

Christopher's profile

David Edwards

Course Director

Dave is an experienced technical artist and academic. He teaches on many of the earlier levels of the Games Art degree, using his expertise in 3D character and environment art, 3D scripting, and level design in the Unreal Engine.

David's profile

Dr Ying-Ying Law

Course Director - Esports

Ying-Ying is a sociologist and an active researcher in digital cultures. Her main area of interest includes video gamer culture, communities, play, esports, research methods and gender studies from a sociological perspective.

Ying-Ying's profile

Craig Weightman

Senior Lecturer

Craig is a lecturer in Games Programming and has an active research interest in gamification and its uses in developing society.

Craig's profile

Daryl Marsh

Senior Lecturer

Course Leader for BA(Hons) Animation with long term professional animation experience in London, Manchester and Copenhagen. Specialisms include CGI, Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality. Researching immersive experiences and emerging technology.

Daryl's profile

James Vickers

Lecturer

Jay is the module leader for Game Engine Creation and lecturer for various other modules across programming and development. Jay has a background in computer science and quantum computing as well as graphical programming.

James's profile

Peter Cooper

Lecturer

Peter has taught software engineering, web development, games development and computer science. He is commencing a research MSc in Computer Science, developing areas of interest such as Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Gaming and Gamification.

Peter's profile

Robin Heap

Lecturer

Robin is an animation filmmaker who specialises in stop motion animation development and production.

Robin's profile
for Career Prospects

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2025

for Social Inclusion

The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026

for First Generation Students

The Mail University Guide 2026

in the UK for Games Education

Rookies Games Design and Development 2023, 2025

TIGA Best Games Institution 2024, 2025

of Research is “Internationally Excellent” or “World Leading”

Research Excellence Framework 2021

of Research Impact is ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Very Considerable’

Research Excellence Framework 2021