Computer Games Production
University of Portsmouth
UCAS Code: I601 | Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
112-120 points to include a minimum of 2 A levels.
112-122 Tariff points from the Access to HE Diploma.
Cambridge Pre-U score of 46-50.
GCSE/National 4/National 5
3 GCSEs at grade C or above to include English and Mathematics/3 GCSEs at grade 4 or above to include English and Mathematics.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
25 points from the IB Diploma, to include 3 Higher Level subjects.
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
H3,H3,H3,H3,H4-H3,H3,H3,H3,H3
Acceptable when combined with other qualifications.
Acceptable when combined with other qualifications.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
112-120 Tariff points to include a minimum of 2 Advanced Highers.
Acceptable when combined with other qualifications.
T Level
UCAS Tariff
112-120 points to include a minimum of 2 A levels, or equivalent.
112-120 points from the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate including 1 A level, plus the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate.
About this course
This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.
**This is a Connected Degree**
Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course.
**Overview**
Our award-winning Computer Games Production degree course will help you achieve your dream of becoming a computer games producer or project manager.
You’ll also develop the essential business expertise to start your own indie games studio and tackle the challenges that arise – from funding and protecting your innovative ideas, to team and project management, marketing, and leadership. By working with fellow students from our Computer Games Technology degree course, you’ll gain experience in all areas of game development.
Our course emphasises collaboration and has strong ties with the South Coast games industry, so you'll have many opportunities to work with games companies, culminating in a year-long shippable development project in your final year.
The independent games industry is skyrocketing. According to Ukie, the trade body for the UK games industry, video games contributed a record £2.91 billion to the UK economy in 2019 and the pandemic has created a huge revenue opportunity. Now’s the golden time to make your mark.
**Course highlights**
- Learn current industry standards by studying modules created with eminent games companies such as Rare
- Build your industry contacts by collaborating with games companies
- Learn from a teaching team with a mix of managerial experience and industry expertise
- Attend guest lectures by industry speakers to increase your industry knowledge
- Take advantage of a self-employed placement year to gain valuable professional experience
- Showcase your work at our annual Graduate Show to attract potential employers and the wider public
**Accreditation**
This course is accredited by TIGA (The Independent Game Developers’ Association) as delivering skills relevant to the games industry. TIGA accreditation is applicable to courses meeting any of a range of games industry needs, such as programming, art, design and entrepreneurship.
In 2021, the University of Portsmouth was awarded Best Educational Institution at the TIGA Games Industry Awards.
**Careers and opportunities**
The UK games industry has boomed despite the pandemic. Between 2019 and 2020, its generated revenue increased by 20% to £907 million, accelerating the UK's gross domestic profit to £2.2 billion (£4 million more than the previous year). In addition, almost 31,000 new jobs related to games studios were created – over 4,000 more than before the pandemic (TIGA, 2020).
Over the next few years, revenue and job opportunities in the UK games industry are expected to rise, so as a graduate, you'll be well-positioned to help further expand this exciting, innovative industry.
Graduate destinations
Our graduates have worked at some of the biggest names in the games industry, including:
- Black Rock
- Climax
- Codemasters
- Creative Assembly
- d3t
- Electronic Arts
- Frontier
- Jagex
- Kwalee
- Rebellion
- Sony
You can get help, advice and support for up to 5 years after you leave the University as you advance in your career.
Modules
Full time modules
Year 1
Core modules in this year include:
- 3D Modelling
- Art Skills For Games
- Coding and Scripting For Games
- Game Development
- Games Design and Context
- Production Studio
There are no optional modules in this year.
Year 2
Core modules in this year include:
- Leadership Development
- Student Enterprise for Games
Optional modules in this year include:
- Commercial Asset Production for Real Time
- Creative Technologies Study Exchange
- Design and Visual Research for Cinema and Game
- Design Games
- Designing For Animation
- Engaged Citizenship Through Interdisciplinary Practice
- Gameplay Programming
- Modern Foreign Language
- Maths for Games
- Professional Experience
- Program Consoles
- Programming Application Programming Interfaces
- Prototyping and Iterating Game Designs
Year 3
Core modules in this year include:
- Final Year Project
- Group Leadership, Management and Production Skills: Part One
- Group Leadership, Management and Production Skills: Part Two
Optional modules in this year include:
- Advanced Graphics Techniques
- Create Worlds
- Games Research
- Implementing Game Audio
- Motion Capture Applications
- Programming AI for Games
- Psychological Theory for Game Designers
- Targeting Platforms
We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.
Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
University of Portsmouth
Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Computer games and animation
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Computer games and animation
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
This is a relatively new subject area for this kind of data, so we don’t currently have very much information to display or analyse yet. Gaming is a growing industry, and if it continues to grow we should see the rather high unemployment rate coming down over the next few years. Much the most common jobs for graduates who do get work after six months are in programming roles - but as things stand, be aware that jobs in the field are very competitive and personal contacts - either through family, friends or via specialist employment agencies - are a crucial way into the industry so be prepared to talk as well as code!
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Computer games and animation
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£22k
£27k
£31k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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