We have a ‘games innovation’ ethos, giving you the opportunity to create complete games in a unique environment, collaborating with students from across the School – from composers and sound designers to marketing and distribution students – learning not only how to create games, but how to release them and promote them across indie games and Triple-A.
You’ll have the opportunity to develop invaluable Industry contacts through events and visits from professionals and experts.
You will get access to high-spec gaming systems and related tools, working on both solo and group projects, with plenty of opportunities to experiment, innovate and excel.
Since the BAFTA Student Award’s Games category was created in 2021, NFTS graduation games have won in 2023 with
Eros Xavier’s Love Solutions
and 2024 with
There Was A Home.
COURSE FACILITIES
As an NFTS student, you will have 24/7 access to the NFTS Games Design and Development Lab. In the dedicated studios you will have your own desk with a dual monitor setup, powered by Alienware Aurora development workstations, build around the latest AMD Ryzen and Nvidia RTX technology. All workstations are kitted out with industry standard software such as Unity, Unreal Engine, GitHub, Adobe Creative Cloud, Reality Capture, Maya and ZBrush.
Additionally, you will have access to Android tablets, VR headsets, drawing tablets, game controllers and whatever else you might need to create unique gameplay experiences.
We are excited to announce this MFA course is part of an innovative slate of new qualifications from 2025/2026. Our
A Fresh Take
page tells you all you need to know!
The video games industry is continually innovating and evolving, and new platforms and technologies have created fantastic opportunities for technical invention and artistic innovation. This course provides the practical skills and creative knowledge to design, devise and build games, from inception to delivery, and gives you the ability to experiment with evolving technologies and techniques. We strive to develop the creative leadership necessary to become a leading innovator and practitioner within the industry.
You will be working alongside film, television and animation practitioners, developing creative and technical skills in games design, code, art, animation, production, audio and interface. In our uniquely creative environment, we actively encourage students to benefit from numerous collaborative opportunities across our production studios.
In the first year
students undertake a series of set projects – both group and solo – during which you also get to learn core games development disciplines of design, art, animation, coding and production. Modules and workshops cover 3D modelling/animation, game programming, game design, character creation, producing and project management.
In the second year
you will work with students from other disciplines to design, develop and market your Final Major Project.
Games design and development students at the NFTS come from a wide range of backgrounds and prior experiences, and have all demonstrated an excitement, aptitude, creativity and willingness to learn new skills. We actively seek a diverse and interesting group of people who have something new to bring into the games development fold.
Successful applicants have come to us with previous qualifications from across the arts, sciences and humanities; and from all walks of life. Recent students have included a neuroscientist, a kickboxing instructor and a copy-writer! Games development experience is most welcome, but by no means essential.
While many applicants will have a degree from a British or overseas university, we will consider applicants who do not have a degree if they have an impressive portfolio, a creative track record or an alternative qualification.
International students Visa and English language requirements
If you have any questions, please email
[email protected]
Home Tuition Fees:
£15,450 per year
Includes UK/Irish Nationals and EU/EEA Nationals with EU Settlement Status, subject to meeting residency requirements. For more information, please see our
FAQs
.
International Tuition Fees:
£27,000 per year
Includes non-EU/EEA Nationals and EU/EEA Nationals without EU Settlement Status
These are the fees for January 2026 intake, and are updated yearly toward the end of June.
All production costs are included in the course fees, including the use of School facilities and equipment.
Please note, the following application fee applies:
Deposit on confirmation of place: £500
This fee is non-refundable
The NFTS is committed to ensuring it is open to students of genuine ability, no matter what their background or financial circumstances, which is why we award more
scholarships and bursaries
to British students, relative to the size of our student body, than almost any other educational institution in the UK.
The following item(s) should accompany your online application:
A digital portfolio of your creative work presented online (send us a link to your YouTube videos or a Google Shared Folder or a personal website). This may show sketches, illustrations, animations, sample games, design documents and others. The purpose is to showcase your creative skills.
Applications will close at
23:59
on the day of the deadline, shown at the top of this page.
Funding Available
The NFTS awards more scholarships and bursaries to British students, relative to the size of our student body, than almost any other educational institution in the UK. If you’re successful at gaining a place on the course, you will be contacted by our funding team with details on how to apply for one of these scholarships.
Discover New Games Talent: National Film and Television School to Unveil New Student Creations at MCM Comic Con x EGX 2024!
Discover New Games Talent: National Film and Television School to Unveil New Student Creations at MCM Comic Con x EGX 2024!
Boarberry Farm (Trailer)
2025 Game
Designer/Developer/Programmer - Wen (Daniel) Jin
Producers - William Perkins, Luke Asco
Story/Writer - Tejas Ewing
Students collaborate with others across the School to bring their games to life – including composers, screenwriters, animators and sound designers to producers and marketing and distribution students.
Eros Xavier's Love Solutions (Trailer)
2023 Game
A 2.5D narrative driven puzzle-like game. Play as Eros, a retired cupid who breaks couples apart instead of bringing them together by manipulating objects in their home. How many hearts can you break?
Winner of the 2023 BAFTA Student Game Award. The game's creator, Rafif Kalantan, was included in
MCV/DEVELOP’s 30 Under 30 2023.
Oubliette (Trailer)
2025 Game
Designer/Developer/Writer/Programmer - Luc Foster
Producers - Louis Jousselme, Luc Foster
Each year, second year Games Design and Development MA showcase their games at EGX.
Octo-Ninja Hachimaru (trailer)
2022 Game
Designer/Developer/Level Designer
- Aisosa Ugiagbe
Programmers
- Aisosa Ugiagbe, Alexis Martineau
Each year, second year Games Design and Development MA showcase their games at EGX.
Harp Song (trailer)
2022 Game
Designers/Developers/Story
- Stephen Glenister, Ástráður "Ace" Ísak Lárusson
Level Designer - Ástráður "Ace" Ísak Lárusson
Programmer - Stephen Glenister
Producers - Juliana Lynch, Ashkan Dabbagh
Writer - Paul Carey
Harp Song
was shortlisted for the 2022 Yugo BAFTA Student Awards.
Graduate Success
Games Design and Development MA graduates are able to confidently step out into the industry into a wide range of roles including
games developers, designers, programmers
and
project managers.
Recent successes for our graduates include...
Sam Rowett
Designer,
The Casting of Frank Stone
Graduate Success
Games Design and Development MA graduates are able to confidently step out into the industry into a wide range of roles including
games developers, designers, programmers
and
project managers
.
Recent credits include...
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Junior Designer
Billy Blake
Graduate Success
Games Design and Development MA graduates are able to confidently step out into the industry into a wide range of roles including
games developers, designers, programmers
and
project managers
.
Recent credits include...
Pixel Ripped 1995
and
Pixel Ripped 1989
Creator
Ana Ribeiro
Graduate Success
Games Design and Development MA graduates are able to confidently step out into the industry into a wide range of roles including
games developers, designers, programmers
and
project managers.
Recent successes for our graduates include...
Sophie Artemigi
Creator of
Hook Up: The Game
,
selected for
MCV/DEVELOP's 2022 30 Under 30
and won
the*GameHERs Mobile Game of the Year
Graduate Success
Games Design and Development MA graduates are able to confidently step out into the industry into a wide range of roles including
games developers, designers, programmers
and
project managers.
Recent successes for our graduates include...
Naomi Kotler
Senior Experience Designer at
Ninja Theory
, winner of the
2017 Women in Games Breakthrough Talent Award
