Game development is a rapidly growing industry, with a global market size projected to reach $256 billion by 2025. However, despite its potential for growth and employment opportunities, there is still a lack of game development education available in many countries. Estonia is one of them. That’s why we at Gamecan, a game development company based in Pärnu, Estonia, started our own education project: Full Cycle Game Academy.
The CEO of Gamecan, Marten, has always had a dream to develop game development education in Estonia, especially in Pärnu, and bring awareness to the game industry in the country. At the beginning of 2022, I, then the marketing specialist of Gamecan, and Marten brainstormed the future of Gamecan and Pärnu, and the idea to create our own academy was born.
The idea to create Full Cycle Game Academy was also motivated by the lack of Unreal Engine specialists in the industry, which is not only an issue in Estonia but globally. With our fast growth, it’s been a challenge to find new talent as fast as we’d like to expand our team and we see that the problem is only increasing. More and more Unreal Engine specialists are needed in the industry as the engine is quickly growing in popularity.
After months of hard work, in September, the Full Cycle Game Academy welcomed its first batch of 30 students. The academy offers an intensive 9-month course, covering all the basics of game development to acquiring in-depth knowledge of development with Unreal Engine. The course is aimed at giving students a complete understanding of the entire game development process, hence the name “Full Cycle”. And we can already say that the results are impressive.
It’s worth noting that Full Cycle Game Academy is an on-site educational center, where students have access to powerful computers and a welcoming environment, designed to promote collaboration. We believe that on-site education fosters better communication and collaboration among students and instructors, creating a more efficient learning environment.
During the summer months, the academy received a significant boost when we became authorized by Epic Games, the makers of the popular game engine, Unreal Engine. The academy became the first Unreal Authorized Training Centre in Northern Europe, which is a big deal considering the role that Unreal Engine plays in the industry. This partnership enables the academy to provide high-quality education to students who want to specialize in Unreal Engine development.
For the first year at Full Cycle Game Academy, we welcomed students from all over the world, including Costa Rica, Argentina, Azerbaijan, USA, and many more. The academy has proven to be an attractive option for students who are looking for high-quality game development education, especially those who want to specialize in Unreal Engine development.
Due to its success, Full Cycle Game Academy is expanding, and this September, we will be accepting 150 students! This expansion means that more students will have the opportunity to pursue their dreams in the game industry. We will be opening 5 curriculums: game development; game design; game art; sound and audio; and project management and production. Each curriculum is designed to equip students with the necessary skills and knowledge to join the game industry straight after graduating.
As Full Cycle Game Academy continues to grow and expand, we remain committed to our mission to provide effective and high-quality game development education to students from all over the world. Our goal is to not only produce skilled game developers but also to contribute to the growth of the game industry in Estonia and beyond. We are excited about the future of our academy and the opportunities that it will provide for our students, and we look forward to seeing their success in the years to come!
Maret, Head of Education and Marketing