Epic Games Centre opens at Staffordshire University

Epic Games has teamed up with Staffordshire University to open the Epic Games Centre, a new development space for students.

The centre is fully equipped with hardware provided by Epic, as well as Unreal Engine development software, and is open to those studying the university’s game design courses.

The Epic Games Centre will also be used to host Epic Developer Days, allowing professional studios to show off their Unreal-powered games. The first of these events is due to take place this spring.

Epic’s European territory manager Mike Gamble was on site today to open the centre.

"There’s a lot of talk about the need for the industry to get more involved with the academic process and have a greater input into how games design is taught," he said.

"This collaboration will enable Staffs students to have a direct link with Epic and a direct line to the heart of the industry. In turn, Epic and its developer partners will have access to these world-class facilities along with a new generation of game makers totally immersed within the world of Unreal Engine technology."

The university’s Dr Bobbie Fletcher added: "We have many great courses here at Staffs but this partnership will give our students a deeper understanding of how theory is put into practice and a greater understanding of the commercial complexities of the development process. 

"We’ve no doubt that this collaboration will make our courses more attractive to potential students and provide us all with a new dimension of awareness about how the industry works and evolves."

Nearly 500 students are currently enrolled in the eight games design courses Staffordshire University runs. The partnership between Epic and Staffs University is initially set for two years.

You can find out more about the Epic Games Centre in the video below: