Game Republic is finalising plans for the Game Republic Student Showcase 2026 which will be taking place at the University of Salford on 17th June and will be followed by the GR Careers Conference on 18th June 2026. As we look at next year, we caught up with one of the judges from last year – Atomhawk who gave us an update on the winner of the Art and Animation Category Alex Brearey.
Last year over 200 students from Universities and colleges competed in the Student Showcase. Judges included Distinctive Games (Rugby League 24), Pitstop Productions (casting, voice and audio work for Baldur’s Gate 3), Red Kite Games (co-developer Hogwarts Legacy), Revolution Software (Broken Sword), Sumo Digital (Sackboy – A Big Adventure) and of course Atomhawk (creative and technical outsourcer for Age of Empires IV, Helldivers 2, and more). The event formed part of the Game Republic events programme for 2025 supported byGame Republic’s Official Partners Red Kite Games, Xsolla and Barclays Games and Creative
Tom Leighton, Operations Manager at the studio told us “We were privileged to attend Game Republic’s 2025 Student Showcase on campus at Sheffield Hallam University as the sponsor judge for Art and Animation. This is the first year Atomhawk has been a part of the showcase, and we were humbled by the diversity and the passion that was on show. We were really impressed by many of the students we met, but Alex stood out, based on her execution, design approach and how she presented the work. We felt her first place was secured.”
“When I won the Art and Animation award, the feeling of my work being recognised to win such an achievement was already incredible, so getting to then be mentored by Atomhawk was even more so,” said Alex, when asked about her time on the mentorship. “The experience of working with the team helping me complete my scene has improved my art in so many ways and I cannot thank them enough. They were supportive of my ideas while also giving me great feedback throughout the process which helped to push my work further. Once again, I’d like to thank the Atomhawk team who worked with me, thank you so much for the opportunity!”
“Alex has been a brilliant mentee,” said Marcelo, one of Alex’s mentors, “as she is not only a talented artist but also very open to feedback. She was able to take all the knowledge we gave her and apply it in an artistic way.”
The Atomhawk team added “We look forward to doing more events with Game Republic and connecting with more peers and students within the creative industry. Congratulations once again to all the winners and well done to Alex!”
Dr Jackie Mulligan, Development Director for Game Republic adds “This was such a fantastic prize for students entering the GR Student Showcase and we are so thankful to Atomhawk and indeed all our sponsor judges that support this annual competition that has grown so much over the years.”
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