New ARU facilities to support booming games sector
Official opening of £2.5m games development spaces that replicate industry studios
Students using the new computer games development facilities on ARU's Cambridge campus
Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) has officially opened its new £2.5 million games development facilities, designed to mirror real-world production environments in a sector of growing importance to the UK economy.
The new industry-standard facilities at ARU’s Cambridge campus will support the next generation of computer games artists and developers, and have been delivered following a grant from the Office for Students (OfS).
This OfS funding is for projects that will “offer a boost to local and regional economies and promote national growth” and the computer games sector is a key contributor to the UK economy, with studios in Cambridge playing a leading role.
Recent figures from trade body Ukie show that UK consumers spent almost £8.8 billion on software, hardware and associated video game culture last year, a 7.4% increase on 2024. The games industry now supports over 73,000 jobs across the UK, including around 28,000 developers.
ARU already provides a range of courses at undergraduate level including BA (Hons) Computer Games Design, BA (Hons) Computer Games Art, and BSc (Hons) Computer Games Programming, as well as the postgraduate MA Games Development (Art), and MSc Games Development (Programming) courses, and the new facilities will enable ARU to increase capacity and student enrolment in these subjects.
Students will benefit from access to high-specification tools and technologies used across the industry, including an additional 144 professional-standard workstations equipped with RTX graphics technology, 34-inch curved displays and specialist gaming chairs.
Dedicated studio spaces have been designed to support collaborative working, replicating professional game studios, and students will also have access to advanced resources including motion capture, 3D prototyping, full-body scanning and emerging Augmented Reality (AR) technologies.
As well as ARU’s degree programmes, the new spaces will help to support modular short courses aimed at upskilling the existing computer games design workforce, alongside future outreach activity such as Gamebridge, the popular student games festival.
The official launch event on 10 June brought together industry partners, studios, employers, alumni and ARU games staff. Earlier in the day, local schools and colleges were given a preview of the new facilities, played games created by ARU students and heard from ARU graduates now working in the sector.
“Our new facilities represent a significant investment in the future of games development at ARU and will benefit our students and the games sector, regionally and nationally, with a focus on upskilling and lifelong learning.
“We are creating an environment where students can learn and innovate using the same tools they will encounter in industry. These facilities will mean our graduates leave with not only strong technical ability, but also the experience and creative confidence that employers are looking for.”
Heather Lilley, Head of ARU’s Cambridge School of Creative Industries