Lecturer’s game studio wins national award for championing games education
07 October 2025
Observer Interactive, the independent studio co-founded by Matty McGrory, senior lecturer in Indie Game Development MA (Online) has been recognised as one of the UK’s Best Places to Work by GamesIndustry.biz.
The studio took home the Education Award held at the Royal Institution in London earlier this month. The event celebrated companies that go the extra mile to support their teams and nurture talent. Observer Interactive joined a line-up that included major names such as Rare, NaturalMotion, Behaviour Interactive and Wushu Studios, an impressive achievement for a young indie studio based in the North East.
“We’re beyond proud to be winners of this award,” said Matty. “With several of our founders coming from education backgrounds, supporting the next generation of game developers has always been at the heart of what we do.”
Observer Interactive’s award recognises the studio’s ongoing commitment to education and skills development across the games industry. The team work closely with universities across the UK, with their internship scheme leading to several full-time hires.
“All the staff pictured in our award announcement started with us through that internship programme,” Matty explained. “We’ve tried our best to help create the strongest possible route for students to move into the industry and it’s fantastic that our efforts have been recognised.”
The studio also contributes to university curricula, mentors emerging developers through initiatives such as Limit Break and regularly delivers guest lectures and portfolio sessions with Into Games.
External links
https://observerinteractive.com/
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