Welsh gaming academy launched to boost homegrown talent

A new scheme designed to turbocharge Wales’ video games sector has been launched by Creative Wales, offering intensive mentoring and business support to 12 emerging studios from across the nation.

The Gaming Academy Programme — fully funded by the Welsh Government and delivered by Cardiff-based tech hub Tramshed Tech — aims to turn promising games projects into commercially successful, investor-ready companies.

It forms part of Creative Wales’ latest round of development support, in which each participating studio has already secured between £25,000 and £50,000 to develop new titles.

The academy’s mission is to maximise the impact of that investment by providing the specialist commercial skills often missing from creative start-ups.

Expert training

The programme is split into two phases:

A two-month accelerator, where founders refine their concepts through workshops, business modelling, mentoring and a showcase event.

A further six months of tailored support, including one-to-one coaching, market testing, and help to pitch at major international events such as the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco and Gamescom in Cologne.

Studios taking part hail from all corners of Wales, including Caernarfon, Pembrokeshire, Blaenau Gwent, Cardiff and the Vale — reflecting the breadth of game development talent now emerging outside traditional tech hubs.

Organisers say the academy plugs a long-standing gap: while Wales has produced award-winning creative talent, startups often lack the commercial know-how to attract publishers or investment, scale production, or break into the £352bn global gaming market.

Serious player

Minister for Creative Jack Sargeant said the scheme demonstrates Wales’ commitment to becoming a serious player in the industry.

“This programme is about giving games developers in Wales the complete package they need to succeed,” he said.

“It’s not just funding — it’s expert mentoring, practical business skills and the connections to achieve commercial success.”

Creative Wales has so far supported more than 75 digital-first companies, including animation and immersive tech studios.

Tramshed Tech — ranked among the UK’s top 10 co-working spaces by Wired magazine — has supported more than 300 start-ups through previous venture programmes.

Head of Ventures Sophie Webber said too many Welsh developers struggle to scale despite strong ideas.

“Wales has incredible creative talent in games, but founders don’t always get the commercial and investor support needed to scale globally. The Gaming Academy is about bridging that gap.”

Hypertonic Games founder Henry Jones, working on VR beekeeping experience Honey & Hives, said the support was critical in a “fast-moving and technically challenging” field.

Alex Lightman of Cardiff studio Good Gate Media agreed that the combination of funding and structured mentoring was transformative.

“It’s about more than just making a great game — it’s about ensuring our projects successfully reach global markets.”