Falmouth University’s Games Academy climbs The Rookies World Rankings list

Falmouth’s prestigious Games Academy is once again making waves in the creative industries as global rankings data from ‘The Rookies World School Rankings’ reveals that Falmouth features in the Top 20 for three categories: best games design schools, best concept art illustration schools and best games design & development schools for production excellence.

‘The Rookies’ league table recognises the most influential colleges and universities in the field of game design, development and concept art and 2022’s results were based on more than 58,443 portfolio reviews assessed by a team of more than 150 industry professionals.

We’re delighted in the Games Academy to see the recognition from industry body The Rookies in more of their global disciplinary leagues than ever before.

Since 2011, The Rookies has enabled students to showcase their work in front of industry professionals and unlike other education-based rankings systems, they are driven solely by industry professionals – without the influence of paid advertising.

In 2022, Falmouth University’s Games Academy hosted its first three-day Games Expo, attracting exhibitors, industry professionals and thought leaders to the Expo hall held in Penryn, where students were able to showcase their work and make professional industry connections. Preparations are also underway for Falmouth students’ next participation in the Global Games Jam in 2023.

In addition to the University's success in the World School Rankings listing, three student teams also secured positions as finalists in Rookie Awards.

Student team Average Soup were finalists in the prestigious Game of the Year – Console & PC award category for their dystopian first-person shooter Repeater Roulette.

In the PC & Console – Immersive Media category, student team Well Quarter Past Two were included for their VR narrative exploration survival game Whitefall.

And Game Development: Art BA(Hons) student Elmo La Mantia showcased an entire year's worth of work to claim his position as a finalist in the Career Opportunities: Realworld One category.

Dr Douglas Brown, Head of Games at Falmouth University said:

“We’re delighted in the Games Academy to see the recognition from industry body The Rookies in more of their global disciplinary leagues than ever before. Branching out into Game Design and Concept Art as well as keeping our place in the Game Development league table show that our students’ personal work is just as strong as the things they can create together.

“We hope to enter even more of these rankings in future by embedding challenges like submitting to The Rookies and other industry competitions more directly into our modules. It’s one of the best ways to get students’ work noticed by industry, and also cements our reputation for providing a world-class games education."