Gamebridge for Cambridge as video games greats and career conscious guests eye festival opportunity

Last year’s event saw 214 students attend from 43 different universities and colleges from across the UK. The latest iteration will again bring together experts, leading games design companies and students from across the country.

Frontier Developments, Jagex, Rocksteady, Airship Interactive, Mooncolony, Sumo Sheffield, XR Games and Dlala have all committed to taking part.

The event is designed to showcase the UK’s student games talent and support students entering the industry, which as a sector increased by over four per cent last year; game software sales accounted for more than £5 billion of the £8bn economic payback for the UK economy.

The Gamebridge Festival is free to attend and there is also a bursary to help with travel costs as well as free local bus travel for students courtesy of Stagecoach.

The event will feature talks from industry leaders, recruitment booths, bookable 1-to-1s, and other networking opportunities, and there will be over £5,000 of prizes on offer for the best and most innovative student work, which can be submitted in advance via https://itch.io/jam/gamebridge-2024

Gamebridge Trustee Michael Farrow-Killick, Games Development Course Lead and Lecturer at Cambridge Regional College said: “Last year, the Gamebridge Festival brought together young people from universities and Further Education colleges across the country to exhibit their amazing work, demonstrating what makes games design such a powerful and creative sector.

“As well as the support and advice on offer at the festival, the generous sponsorship of £5,000 of prizes by games companies is a fantastic investment in talent, encouraging students to keep developing their skills and creating exciting new things.”

Dr Baris Isikguner, Principal Lecturer in Computer Games and Deputy Head of the Cambridge School of Creative Industries at ARU, added: “ARU is delighted to be working with the Gamebridge team once again to help develop the games industry pipeline by supporting future talent.

“ARU aims to equip young people with the skills and knowledge needed to access incredible careers, and the advice, guidance and industry mentoring that’s available through the Gamebridge Festival helps with this.”

• The Gamebridge Student Games Festival is open to anyone aged 17 and over and further information can be found at http://www.gamebridge.uk