Games Development with Foundation Year

Course overview
This course includes a foundation year - ideal if you need additional preparation or if you don't have sufficient grades to join Year 1. You develop the technical and creative skills needed to thrive in the games industry. Blending game design with hands-on coding and scripting, this course prepares you for a wide range of roles in game development. You explore core areas such as gameplay mechanics, level design, user experience and interactive storytelling, whilst building foundations in programming, scripting and game engine use. Through active learning, collaborative teamwork and real-world development cycles, you develop a skillset that combines artistic vision with technical proficiency.

With access to cutting-edge tools, industry-standard software and support from experienced professionals, you gain practical experience that mirrors professional game studio environments. If you're passionate about designing engaging game worlds and coding the systems that bring them to life, this course equips you with the knowledge and adaptability to succeed in this fast-evolving field.

You also take part in a wide variety of game jams, hackathons, and industry networking events.

Top reasons to study this course

• Number 1: Teesside University has been ranked the number 1 video game design and development school in the UK and number 5 in Europe. (GAMEducation 2025, tees.ac.uk/source).

• Nationally recognised: Teesside University is ranked the top North East University for Animation & Game Design in the Guardian University Guide 2026. (58 institutions ranked, tees.ac.uk/source).

• Industry links: take part in Animex, our annual international animation and games festival featuring experts from Rockstar, Pixar, Disney and Sony.

• Real-world experience: enter GameJam events, take part in industry competitions and Beta test upcoming games before they are released.

• Career-ready: our ExpoSeries of events allow you to showcase your skills to industry professionals who are seeking to recruit new and rising talent.

• Start-up business support: we support you to develop your own business in games through our innovative Power UP Indie Games Accelerator.

• Guidance and support: 100% of BSc (Hons) Games Development students agreed that they have received sufficient support, advice and guidance in relation to their course (National Student Survey 2025, tees.ac.uk/source).

Employability
This course provides you with a range of technical and design skills, making you the perfect candidate for a career as an independent games developer.

Entrepreneurial support from University-based Launchpad helps you to start your career as an independent developer or small company. Many small studios now take advantage of Kickstarter funding to generate the funds to develop their games. As a graduate of this course, you have the skills to put forward a polished proof of concept to attract funding.

As the course provides a range of transferable skills in real-time environments such as Unity and Unreal, you are also well suited for careers in virtual reality or real-time visualisation and interactive experiences.

Course Modules

Access course information through Teesside University’s website using the course page link provided (or visit www.tees.ac.uk).