A new, free digital careers fair connecting university and college students with games industry professionals took place online from 28-30 October, providing the perfect antidote for UK students confined by lockdown and concerned about their future careers prospects post Covid.

More than 1500 students and 70 games industry experts took part in GI Live: Academy, organised by GamesIndustry.biz in partnership with Total War studio Creative Assembly. Among the other 40+ companies who joined the event on Discord were Hangar 13, EA Dice, Playground Games, Square Enix, Devolver Digital, No More Robots, Unit 2 Games, Double Eleven, Splash Damage, Rebellion, D3T, Codemasters and No Code.

Students and graduates had the opportunity to attend masterclasses from world leading game developers, have their portfolios professionally reviewed, join round tables on game design, programming, journalism and more, and hear from an amazing line-up of special guests including Tomb Raider writer Rhianna Pratchett, Donkey Kong Country composer David Wise, and Broken Sword creator Charles Cecil. All free of charge!

“GamesIndustry.biz has been connecting the games business with students and job seekers since we launched our first Career Fair 14 years ago this month” says Christopher Dring, head of games B2B at ReedPop. “With the pandemic making it harder than ever for industry professionals to visit schools, colleges and universities, GI Live:Academy has played a vital role in helping the games industry connect with the next generation of game makers.”

“If you missed the event you can still head over to the GamesIndustry.biz You Tube Channel, where the series of GI Live: Academy talks are now available to view on demand” adds Christopher. “Be sure too, to check out GamesIndustry.biz Academy which is dedicated to learning all there is to know about making games and getting a job in this wonderful industry.”

Part of ReedPop, GamesIndustry.biz is the world’s leading video games trade website with full-time editorial teams in Europe and North America.