VIDEO GAME SCHOOLS
WORLD RANKINGs
FIND THE BEST VIDEO GAME SCHOOL FOR YOU:
Want to know the video game school that will best allow you to succeed?
Discover our world ranking of the best schools, by continent and country.
Which video game studios offer the most entry-level positions?
Discover our world ranking of the best schools, by continent and country.
Which video game studios offer the most entry-level positions?
MISSION
GAMEducation – the Global Association for Media Education – offers an in depth international ranking of video game schools as well as a ranking of the studios that recruit new graduates.
ASIA
(coming soon)
AFRICA
(coming soon)
OCEANIA
(coming soon)
☆ 2022 WORLD RANKING ☆
TOP 5 BEST VIDEO GAME SCHOOLS
based on career placement and student projects
which studios recruit the most ENTRY-LEVEL CANDIDATES?
Here are our studio rankings, by continent and country, based on graduate recruitment between 2016-2020 :
AMERICAN Studios : US & CANADA | LATIN AMERICA
ASIAN Studios : (coming soon)
EUROPEAN Studios : (coming soon)
AFRICAN Studios : (coming soon)
OCEANIAN Studios : (coming soon)
what are the VIDEO game professions ?
Video game professions are any profession involved in the start-to-finish production of a video game, whether in creation & design, development, tech, art, or economics.
Some video game technical professions, like programming, may involve mathematics, dynamics, AI, statistics and player data.
》 discover the video game industry 《
(work in progress)
A ranking in phase with the market
Our study is mainly based on two pillars:
1 – A review of the positions held by recent graduates recruited in video game creation studios over the last five years. These careers are the primary criterion in the school’s ranking.
2 – A review of video game projects completed by students during their studies. These prototypes are another important criterion as they illustrate a school’s ability to create real-world professional environments. These crafts are creative, and video games are a living art that cannot be reduced to classroom theory alone. We examine their level of finish, visual quality, gameplay, originality and even innovation and the emotion they emanate, as well as their positioning in professional competitions such as the Unity Awards and IGF Awards.
What is a VIDEO game school ?
A video game school offers complete preparation in one or more video game professions.
Some even go as far as to help students set up companies to market their games.
The first schools of this kind appeared in the late 1990s and early 2000s and were at that time very specialized in these fields. Later, around 2010, mainstream colleges and universities began offering game courses and degrees.
VIDEO GAME PROFESSIONS ARE CONSTANTLY EVOLVING:
The evolution of the video game industry and the new practices of gamers constantly interact with other sectors and give birth to new professions:
Discover how video game engines are taking over the movie industry.
How free to play (mobile free games) influence major game production.
How the democratization of virtual reality (VR) is revolutionizing the serious games market (education, medical, security, HR...)
How the development needs of Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games are increased by the battle royales phenomenon.
Discover these new jobs > (work in progress)
☆ OVERVIEW OF THE TOP 5 GAME SCHOOLS IN THE WORLD ☆
#1 DigiPen
Institute of Technology
Institute of Technology
Redmond, Washington, USA
1,174 students. 92% undergraduate (Bachelor) and 8% graduate (Master) in video game.
Private
Tuition & fees (2020-2021): $37,030 (non U.S. residents)
DigiPen Institute of Technology pioneered the world's first video game programming course in 1994 with the support of Nintendo and has been doing so ever since.
Almost all of its degree programs are closely related to video games, which makes it the most specialized, pure player US establishment.
DigiPen originally focused on computer engineering and programming but has shifted over the past ten years to include game art and 3D animation. The BFA in Digital Art & Animation specializes in artistic creation in the video game and animation production pipelines.
ACADEMICS:
Video game programs fall into five categories:
Computer Science
Digital Art and Animation
Computer Engineering
Game Design and Development
Music and Audio
Undergrad Programs:
Among the alumni of the Institute who joined the video game industry in the United States since 2016, 92% are DigiPen’s BS, BA, and BFA graduates, and 1/3rd of them earn a BS in Computer Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation.
DigiPen’s undergraduate degrees attract high school graduates who choose a path dedicated to video games right from the start. 71% of DigiPen’s alumni have no need to continue on to complete additional graduate degrees, proof of the school’s quality. Their strong employability in the industry may also explain why only 1% of alumni hold both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Digipen. DigiPen’s master’s graduates make up only 7% of all alumni.
GAME PROTOTYPES AND COMPETITIONS:
Metamorphos (2021). Best student project at the Unity Awards 2021, and best Visual Quality Award of the Intel University Games Showcase at the Game Developers Conference 2021 (SF).
OMFG: One Million Fatal Guns (2021). Fast-paced first person shooter game.
RECRUITMENT:
The main companies who have hired DigiPen Institute of Technology graduates since 2017 all are located in the same state: Washington. They are:
Kooapps (WA): 18 graduates including 15 game designers and 2 producers.
343 Industries [Microsoft] (WA) : 17 graduates including 10 tech and 5 artists. Notable game: Halo Infinite.
Bungie [Sony] (WA): 13 graduates including 6 game designers and 5 engineers.
Turn 10 Studios [Microsoft] (WA): 13 graduates including 6 engineers and 3 programmers. Notable game: Forza Motorsport 7.
Epic Games (NC, WA): 10 graduates including 6 programmers.
IllFonic (WA): 10 graduates including 5 programmers and 3 game artists.
All these beautiful studios develop AAA video games, except Kooapps which creates mobile games.
In these six studios, 43% of the positions recent DigiPen graduates hold are technical with 23% related to computer engineering.
Artistic professions make up 20% of the positions held by recent grads.
Games designers are the main profession with 33%.
More broadly, the alumni recruited in the world from 2017 to 2021 by 111 studios also hold positions that are mainly oriented towards engineering and programming. 53% are tech (engineers, programmers), 20% are artistic (game artists, technical artists), and 23% are game designers.
#2 isart digital
Paris, France
1,180 students. 600 undergraduate and 580 graduate students. 60% in Bachelor and 58% in Master.
Private
Tuition & fees (2020-2021): €16,000 (non E.U. residents)
Founded in 2000, Isart Digital is a pure player school excelling in its targeted domains, in particular Game Design and 3D Animation.
Isart heavily promotes studio experience by combining classroom courses and studio internships. This alternating one-week school/one-week studio rhythm excites and motivates students who work on real studio projects throughout their studies which greatly facilitates their integration into the industry.
Another plus of Isart Digital is its numerous specializations, with 11 degree courses divided into three categories: Video Games, 3D-FX and Cinema Animation.
Acceptance into the video game courses at Isart Digital is very selective, particularly the Game Design program, which remains the school’s flagship program.
ACADEMICS:
Game Design (4-year combined bachelor’s+master’s degree)
Game Design & Programming (4-year combined bachelor’s+master’s degree)
Game Programming ( 5-year combined bachelor’s+master’s degree)
Game Art (5-year combined bachelor’s+master’s degree)
Producer (1 year master’s degree)
Music & Sound Design (3-year bachelor’s degree)
GAME PROTOTYPES AND COMPETITIONS:
Isart Digital produces many student projects that are of high visual quality.
Lysfangha (2021). Winner of the Pegasus 2022 (Paris), nominated at the Unity Awards Best student project 2021.
Astreia's Gift (2021). Adventure puzzle game developed on Switch.
RECRUITMENT:
The main companies who have hired ISART Digital graduates since 2017 are:
Ubisoft (Europe & Quebec): 43 graduates, including 17 game designers, 11 game artists, 9 programmers, 4 producers.
Notable games ISART graduates have worked on: Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Ghost Recon Wildlands, Assassins's Creed Valhalla, Rainbow Six, The Division, Splinter Cell, Beyond Good, Evil 2.
Virtuos (France): 11 graduates including 4 game designers, 4 programmers. Notable game: Marvel’s Avengers
Dontnod Entertainment (France): 11 graduates including 6 producers, 2 games artists. Notable games: Life is Strange 2, Vampyr.
Gameloft (Quebec, France, Vietnam) [Vivendi]: 5 graduates including 2 programmers, 1 game artist, 1 producer.
Cyanide (France): 5 graduates including 2 game designers, 2 programmers. Notable game: Chef Life.
These five main employers recruit a perfect balance of artistic (24%) and technical (24%) graduates, with an emphasis on game designers (33%). From this sampling, Ubisoft alone hires more than half of recent alumni.
On a broader scale, Isart alumni hired by 90 studios across the globe from 2017-2021 start careers that are: 27% artistic and 27% technical. 30% are game designers, the profession that remains the school’s speciality and reflects the excellent level of preparation the Game Design degree offers.
The share of producers (13%) and audio designers (3%) are also the highest of this top 5 video game schools.
#3 BUas - Breda
University of Applied Sciences
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 U.E. residents)
The Breda University of Applied Sciences is an international institution with courses taught entirely in English.
This Dutch school focuses its video game training on the Bachelor’s of Science in International Game Architecture and Design, a multidisciplinary curriculum that proves to be particularly effective.
In fact, almost all (99%) of the BUas alumni recruited by studios since 2016 have this degree, and for a large majority (78%) it is their only degree, which attests to its remarkably well-designed and complete preparation and its correspondence with the requirements of the industry.
The Game Technology Master's Degree, only other Breda program in video games, concerns 3% of recently hired alumni. It is mainly research-oriented, which is rather rare in this field.
Breda’s students present their end-of-study projects to professionals each year, easing career integration.
ACADEMICS:
Creative Media and Game Technologies / International Game Architecture and Design (bachelor’s degree)
Game Technology (master’s degree)
GAME PROTOTYPES:
Til Nord (2021). Photorealistic open world simulation snowmobile driving game in the frozen environment of Snøfall øyer.
Vedelem: The Golden Horde (2021). Medieval Real Time Strategy and Survival game.
RECRUITMENT:
The main companies who have hired Breda University of Applied Sciences graduates since 2017 are:
Ubisoft: 16 graduates in 5 countries: 7 game designers, 7 game artists, 1 tech artist, 1 engineer. Notable games: Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Assassin's Creed Origins, The Curse of the Pharaohs.
Sumo Digital Ltd (UK) 14 graduates: 8 game designers, 5 game artists, 1 producer. Notable game: Spyder.
Guerrilla Games [Sony] (NL), 12 graduates: 8 game artists, 2 game designers, 2 programmers.
Massive Entertainment [Ubisoft] (Sweden), 10 graduates: 4 programmers, 3 game designers, 2 game artists, 1 tech artist. Notable games: Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Tom Clancy's The Division 2.
Vertigo Games (NL), 10 graduates: 4 programmers, 3 game designers, 3 game artists. Notable game: After the Fall (VR).
Triumph Studios [Paradox Interactive] (NL), 9 graduates: 5 game designers, 4 game programmers. Notable game: Age of Wonders.
These top recruiters employ mainly technical profiles: 39% of game designers and 21% programmers and engineers. 38% of artistic profiles were hired. Given the importance of these studios, the participation of young graduates in AAA projects is not a surprise.
More broadly, the 2017-2021 alumni of Breda University presented more balanced career profiles. Of their alumni recruited in 90 international studios, 29% are programmers or engineers and 32% are artists, including 27% of game artists, the highest share of this ranking. Game and level designers are 34%, and producers 5%.
#4 USC - UNIversity
of SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
of SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles, California, USA
48,500 students. Video game department: 47% Bachelor's and 57% Master's graduates.
Private (not-for-profit) with very high research activity.
2020 Tuition: $59,260 (non U.S. resident)
The University of Southern California created its first video game program in 2002 with the MFA in Interactive Media. Its most popular degree programs today were created in 2006.
USC enjoys an exceptional location in California. Located in Los Angeles and relatively close to Silicon Valley, USC students benefit from the strong connections the school has developed over many years with the region's largest companies.
USC degree programs have gained an excellent reputation and are even considered as models by other important institutions, notably the NYU Game Center.
One USC detail to note is that it attracts as many students with its two-year master’s program as with its four-year bachelor’s program. The same way, among the alumni who have entered the video game industry in the United States since 2016, there are as many holders of a bachelor’s degree as a master’s.
Among the USC graduates who are working in the industry, 46% hold a USC master's degree in video game-related studies in addition to a degree from another school. This shows the strength of the preparation of USC master’s students. In comparison, 42% of recent USC graduates currently working in games have a bachelor's as their only degree.
This MS in Computer Science with a concentration in Game Development is particularly popular with foreign students who come to continue their education at this prestigious university.
ACADEMICS:
The video game program is based on two scientific fields:
Bachelor in Computer Science in Games
Master in Computer Science in Game Development
B.A. in Interactive Entertainment
M.F.A. in Interactive Media
M.F.A. in Interactive Media (Games and Health)
M.A. in Cinematic Arts (Media Arts, Games and Health)
GAME PROTOTYPES:
Bonds, The Forgotten Adventure (2021). Asymmetrical cooperative puzzle-adventure game featured at the USC Student Games Expo 2021.
Sweeping the Ruins (2021). Two-player co-op strategy and combat game (in collaboration with Otis College of Art and Design and California State University, Fullerton).
RECRUITMENT:
The main companies who have hired University of Southern California graduates in games since 2017 are:
NetEase Games (China), 10 graduates including 6 game designers and 2 engineers.
Riot Games [Tencent] (CA), 9 graduates: 4 producers, 3 engineers, 2 data analysts. Notable games: League of Legends: Wild Rift, Legends of Runeterra, Valorant.
Electronic Arts (EA) (CA, BC), 6 graduates including 2 game designers and 2 engineers. Notable games: The Sims 4, The Sims 4 Cottage Living, The Sims Mobile.
Respawn Entertainment [Electronic Arts] (CA), 6 graduates: 5 engineers and 1 game designer. Notable game: Apex Legends.
Rockstar Games (CA), 6 graduates: 4 game designers, 1 game artist, 1 programmer. Notable games: Red Dead Redemption 2, Red Dead Online
Tencent Games (China, CA), 6 graduates: 3 game designers, 2 programmers, 1 engineer. Notable games: Call of Duty Mobile, Ring of Elysium.
Treyarch [Activision Blizzard] (CA), 6 graduates: 5 engineers, 1 game designer. Notable games: Call of Duty, Black Ops 4 & Black Ops Cold War
The careers of alumni among these main recruiters – mostly as programmers and engineers (44% vs 6% of Game/Tech artists and 35% of Game Designers) – reflects the predominantly technical nature of their training.
More broadly, looking at 66 studios over the past five years, we see USC alum hold positions that are also largely technical and engineering oriented: 60% are engineers and programmers, the highest share of this ranking, while only 5% hold artistic positions. 22% are game designers and 8% producers.
#5 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)
Abertay University was visionary in creating the world's first video game degree in 1997 with the participation of prominent alumnus, David Jones, co-creator of Grand Theft Auto.
It was also one of the first universities in Europe to obtain a PlayStation First Academic Partnership in 2013, enabling students to use PlayStation 4 Development Kits offered by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.
Since 2000, Abertay University has also been organizing and hosting Dare to Be Digital, an annual international game production competition for students and recent graduates.
ACADEMICS:
Abertay University offers four Bachelor degrees and two Master degrees in video games :
BS Computer Games Applications Development
BS Computer Games Technology
BA Game Design and Production
BA Computer Arts
MS Computer Games Technology
MProf Professional Masters in Games Development
66% of Abertay graduates who were hired by video game studios from 2016-2020 possess a bachelor’s degree, and for just over 1/3rd of recent graduates, it is their only degree in this specialty. Half have a Bachelor of Science in Computer Games and 1/3 a Bachelor of Art.
GAME PROTOTYPES:
Project Scrapped (2021). Calm and cute isometric (2,5D) educational puzzle game.
Petty Theft (2021). Hybrid-genre game, inspired by Crypt of the NecroDancer, that blends the stealth genre and momentum-based platformers with minimalist graphics.
RECRUITMENT:
The main companies who have hired Abertay University graduates in games since 2017 are :
Ubisoft (Europe & India), 13 graduates: 7 game designers, 2 programmers, 2 producers, 1 game artist, 1 tech artist.
Notable games: Mario Rabbids Kingdom Battle: Donkey Kong Adventure, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands.
Build A Rocket Boy (UK), 13 graduates: 8 game designers, 2 game artists, 1 programmer, 1 audio designer, 1 producer.
Rockstar Games [Take-Two Interactive] (UK), 9 graduates: 3 programmers, 2 game designers, 2 game artists, 1 technical artist, 1 producer.
4J Studios (UK), 8 graduates: 6 game artists, 2 programmers.
Outplay Entertainment Ltd (UK), 7 graduates: 4 game designers, 3 engineers.
Hyper Luminal Games (UK), 6 graduates including: 2 game designers, 2 game artists, 1 game programmer, 1 producer.
21% of these hires are technical, 27% are artistic, 41% are game designer functions, and 9% producers, reflecting the diversity of the university's programs.
More broadly, of the Abertay alumni employed in 88 studios since 2017: 35% have technical profiles (including 28% of programmers, the highest rate of this ranking), 21% are purely artistic.
Abertay also has the highest share of game designers (36%).
