EUROPE
TOP 5 video game schools
FRANCE
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UK
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SPAIN
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GERMANY
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2022 TOP 5 VIDEO GAME SCHOOLS & Studios IN EUROPE
TOP 5 EUROPEAN video GAME SCHOOLS
schools with the best job placement results in the video game industry
TOP 5 EUROPEAN VIDEO GAME STUDIOS
studios that have recruited the most graduates
☆ game schools top 5 europe ☆
#1 ISART Digital
Paris, France
>1,200 students
Private school established in 2000
Tuition and fees for 2023-2024: Bachelor's degree - 8,900 EUR/year ; Master's degree - 9,300 EUR/year
#2 BUas - Breda University of Applied Sciences
Breda, Netherlands
7,224 students. 99% pursuing games BS and 3% MS degrees.
Government-funded higher education institute.
Tuition & Fees (2020-2021): €12,528 (non-UE residents)
#3 abertay university
Dundee, Scotland
4,500 students. In video games: 47% Bachelor's and 57% Master's graduates.
Public university
2020 Tuition: £15,500 for international students (non-EU, and non-England, Northern Ireland, or Wales)
#4 Rubika
Valenciennes, France
900 students
Private
Tuition & fees : undergrad: €8,250, grad: €9,500
With origins reaching back to 1988, Rubika was created in 2013 with the merger of the Institut Supérieur de Design, Supinfocom and Supinfogame. Rubika is a "pure player" school. All of its programs train in digital technology and half of them are dedicated to video games and animation.
ACADEMICS:
Rubika offers bachelor’s and master’s degree video game study programs in three domains:
Game Art
Game Design
Game Programming
Out of the Rubika alumni who have entered the video game industry in the last five years, 1/3rd hold a bachelor’s degree and 2/3rds hold a master’s degree.
STUDENT PROJECTS:
Rubika students develop very successful games, often comparable to those produced by professional studios, and are regularly awarded in various competitions such as the GDWC (Game Development World Championship), Ping Awards, Unity Awards and Imagine Cup.
The school has released more than sixty student game projects since 2016.
Live Adventure (2021), is a second-person puzzle adventure game that follows a duo's expedition into the lost ruins of a lush forest. Live Adventure won the Best Student Game Award at the IGF (Independence Game Festival) held during the GDC (Game Developer Conference) in San Francisco 2022.
Live Adventure (2021)
Swift (2021), is a competitive multiplayer PC game with sophisticated gameplay and environment in which two teams of three players compete in capture-the-flag matches.
Swift (2021)
RECRUITMENT:
The following are the main video game studios that have recruited Rubika alumni since 2016:
Ubisoft (France, UK, and India) - 32 graduates: 17 game designers, 7 game artists, 5 programmers, 3 producers. Notable games Rubika graduates worked on: Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
Virtuos (France) - 4 graduates: 1 tech artist, 3 programmers, 1 producer. Notable games worked on: Avengers, Horizon Zero Dawn.
Amplitude Studios - 4 graduates: 2 game designers, 2 game artists. Notable games: Lost Symphony and Untold Tales, Endless Space 2.
Sloclap - 4 graduates: 1 game designer, 1 game artist, 1 programmer, 1 producer. Notable game: Sifu.
Appeal Studios - 4 graduates: 1 game designer, 3 game artists.
Ubisoft is by far the leading recruiter, with more than 20% of Rubika alumni from these past five years entering the video game industry.
The alumni work in four professions with a clear design orientation: 44% are game designers, 29% are game/tech artists, 17% are programmers and 10% are producers.
On a broader scale, Rubika alumni recruited since 2016 to video game professions by 73 studios present a fairly similar structure, making Rubika the most art-oriented school in this European ranking, with 38% game designer positions, 33% artistic positions (game/tech artists), 21% programming positions and 8% producers.
#5 U-tad, University of Technology, Arts and Design
Madrid, Spain
1,300 students
Private
Tuition & fees: undergrad: €10,600-11,110, grad: €14,000-15,500
U-tad is considered a “pure player” university because of its 29 programs in digital domains, including eight specifically in video games. The university was founded in 2011 by the originator of Ilion, an animation studio, and Pyro Studios, a mobile game studio. It was developed in symbiosis with professionals in the sector who also constitute the majority of teachers and who provide the material resources.
ACADEMICS:
BA in Interactive Product Design
BS in Computer Science + Minor in Graphic Programming, Immersive Systems and Videogames
BFA in Animation + Minor in Game Art
MS in Game Development
MA in Game Design
MFA in Game Art
Ciclo Formativo de Grado Superior (CFGS) en Animaciones 3D, Juegos y Entornos Interactivos - Higher Level Training in 3D Animation, Games and Interactive Environments for Spanish Speakers.
Summer School
U-tad offers three bachelors and three master’s programs in video games. Out of the U-tad alumni hired in the video game industry since 2016, 39% hold a bachelor’s and 65% hold a master’s degree.
STUDENT PROJECTS:
Ronin-Hood Sisters (2021) isa tactical RPG with elements of Rogue-Lite, where the player takes control of a group of magical manga-inspired girls. Developed as a final master´s degree project.
Ronin-Hood Sisters (2021)
SteelBound (2021) is a cooperative 3D adventure for two players in isometric view in which two princes must put an end to the corruption that is consuming the world. Best Original Sound Track at the PlayStation Talents Awards 2021.
SteelBound (2021)
RECRUITMENT:
The main video game studios who have hired U-tad graduates since 2016 are:
Saber Interactive Spain -14 alumni: 3 game designers, 4 game artists, 6 programmers, 1 producer. Notable games they worked on: Killing Floor 2, WWE 2K Battlegrounds, Evil Dead: The Game.
Genera Games - 10 alumni: 9 game designers, 1 game artist. Notable games they worked on: Tuscany Villa, Frozen Free Fall, Maleficent Free Fall, Gladiator Heroes, Bubble Chef, Smurfs Bubble Story.
Stage Clear Studios - 10 alumni: 5 game designers, 2 game artists, 3 programmers.
Lost Criteria Studios - 9 alumni: 5 game designers, 3 game artists, 1 programmer. Notable game: Blackstorm.
Tessera Studios - 9 alumni: 2 game designers, 3 game artists, 3 programmers, 1 producer. Notable game: Intruders: Hide and Seek (VR).
Ubisoft (Spain, Bulgaria, and UK) - 7 alumni: 3 game designers, 1 game artist, 2 programmers, 1 producer. Notable games: Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, Assassin's Creed VR, Splinter Cell VR, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege.
The U-tad alumni workforce is mainly involved in three tech professions: 46% game designers, 25% programmers and 24% game artists.
Looking at all 91 studios that employ U-tad alumni from 2016 to today, this pattern is much the same: 39% game designers, 28% programmers and 29% game & technical artists.
