Games Programming

Course overview
This degree is one of the UK’s leading games programming courses and is well respected by the industry. You have the opportunity to study on this specialist course taught by experienced developers and internationally recognised researchers.

Have you ever looked at your favourite games and thought how they were crafted? Games programmers are the masterminds behind the gameplay elements, graphics, and audio that make games come alive. It's a role that demands an exceptional level of technical skill and creativity. Throughout your journey, you acquire the essential skills and knowledge to become a proficient games programmer, armed with a deep understanding of the games industry. This knowledge and experience will be your ticket to a rewarding career within the world of games. Beyond the classroom, you'll participate in a range of extracurricular activities, including game jams, hackathons, and networking events with industry professionals.

By the time you complete this course, you'll be equipped to embark on an rewarding career in the games industry, bringing your innovative ideas and technical expertise to the forefront of interactive entertainment. The course is structured around the following themes:

• programming and agile software engineering practices

• gaming hardware and platforms

• gameplay programming and user interfaces and artificial intelligence

• networked multiplayer games (from social gaming to massively multiplayer games) graphics, animation, physics, and simulation programming.

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).

• £2,000 Accommodation Award: you may be eligible for £2,000 towards your accommodation fees if you live outside the TS postcode and are in your first year of study. Visit tees.ac.uk for more information.

• British Computer Society (BCS) academic membership: get free BCS membership to accelerate your career path with CV builder tools, e-learning courses, mentorships programmes, jobs boards and volunteering opportunities.

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

• 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.

Employability
You are ideally suited for employment in the games development industry and similar creative industries. A variety of programming roles exist within these industries such as gameplay programmer, tools programmer, middleware developer and mobile application programmer. The course gives you a strong foundation in computer programming, also allowing for a career in mainstream software development.

Our graduates are highly sought after in the games industry securing roles in AAA studios across the country and the globe including Accenture, HMRC, Zerolight, Ubisoft, Creative Assembly, Double 11, Microsoft, Traveller's Tales and many more.

Course Modules

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

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

• BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT