Over 200 students from 16 Universities and colleges across the North of England will compete at University of Salford on 17th June in the Game Republic Student Showcase.
The competition, now in its 18th year, tours universities and colleges and sees leading game studios who have made some of the biggest global games titles judge game art, game animation, narrative design, game technology, game design and teamwork of the student projects. This year will be the largest showcase ever. It will be followed on 18th June by the Game Republic Careers Conference in the same venue. It forms part of the Game Republic 2026 event programme supported by Official Partners Red Kite Games, Xsolla and Double Eleven.
Game demos, character designs, art portfolios, technical demonstrations and animations will be presented in a fantastic array of 66 projects at the University of Salford’s MediaCity campus including University of Hull, Sheffield Hallam University, Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Greater Manchester, University Campus Doncaster, University Centre Grimsby, University of Leeds, University Centre Leeds, Wakefield College, University of Lancashire, University of Staffordshire, University of Huddersfield, Leeds Beckett University, University of Salford, York St John University and Leeds City College.
MD of Game Republic Jamie Sefton said “We have been overwhelmed this year by the wide range of projects coming through, making it a record-breaking Student Showcase! I expect to see a really high standard of work and some great games produced by the hundreds of students attending. It’ll be a really special day for the students, course leaders and games company judges.”
In 2023, research showed that 90% of previous winners in the Game Republic Student Showcase had gone on to secure games jobs, with 81% staying in the region. This year, the event will also include University of Salford students recording the event and conducting interviews throughout the day gaining vital work experience to support their professional development.
Final year teams will compete in eight categories: Game Art, Game Animation, Game Technology, Game Narrative Design, Game Level Design, Game Design, Game Audio and Best Team, which will be judged by leading games studios who have worked on an impressive range of global hits including Team17 (Worms, Overcooked), Pitstop Productions (Baldur’s Gate 3, Black Myth: Wukong), Atomhawk (Suicide Squad, Call of Duty), Double Eleven (Minecraft Dungeons, Red Dead Redemption 2), Red Kite Games (Hogwarts Legacy, Fall Guys), Revolution Software (Broken Sword, Beyond a Steel Sky) and Sumo Digital Sheffield (Sackboy – A Big Adventure, Fallout 4).
Amber Agar, a BSc Games Design and Production student at Salford, designed the seal games mascot for the event which has been used on websites, posters, social media and on limited-edition mouse mats given out on the day.
The prize presentation will be the first part of the evening programme and will be followed by a video presentation by UK Games Fund and a Games Industry Panel on getting into the industry. The event will finish with networking and drinks with games companies, course leaders, student teams and previous winners.
Ric Michael, Subject Lead for Creative Technology at the University of Salford said: “It is a real pleasure to be hosting the GR Student Showcase here at our MediaCity campus at the University of Salford.
“For many years, our students have been actively taking part in the showcase as it has made its way around the country and as such, we are delighted to be hosting its record-breaking 18th showcase.
“Not only is it a real highlight of the annual games education calendar but it is also renowned for offering students the opportunity to engage directly with figureheads from across the industry and have their talents recognised.”
To find out more about Game Republic’s educational partners, visit this link which details the excellent establishments who are part of the largest games industry network in the North
To find out about this and future Game Republic events and webinars as well as games industry events visit the events page.
If you would like to secure a free ticket and get access to other GR in-person events for free and business support and access to our webinar recordings of full sessions with other experts including Valve, Other Things, Eaton Smith, Lewis Silkin, Johnston Carmichael, Plus Accounting and more – you can apply to join Game Republic here
If you are developing or supporting games in The North, you can join GaMaYo, other Northern meet-ups and the Great Northern Games Discord for FREE here
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