Texas has the second largest concentration of game studios in the U.S., with Austin home to about 74% of the studios, Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW) about 18%, Houston about 7%, and the remainder of the state less than 1%. There are more than 100 game studios in the Austin area, which benefits the local economy by nearly $1 billion annually. The mobile industry is exploding, and Texas is the second largest center of app development and Austin has the most development activity in the state.
Due to this sustained and concentrated growth, local and national game and immersive media industries are competing for talented employees. As the flagship public university in the state, the University of Texas at Austin provides opportunities and growth for the game development, immersive and interactive media industries, and companies using game technology for architectural, engineering, and manufacturing. The GDAD Program is uniquely positioned to provide talent for these prolific industries. To create and sustain a world-class program that produces talented candidates for Texas’ world-class companies, funding opportunities are available to support the following programmatic needs:
Academics
- Courses: Identifying new courses with the Academic Advisory Council and instructors to offer new and existing courses
- Research Lab: Perform research on games for good and experimental game design using equipment such as AR/VR, alternative controllers, etc.
Student Services
- Scholarships: Funding for disadvantaged students
- Student Related Activities: Providing career services (e.g. resume reviews), admissions and curricular advice, and programs to build a game and immersive media development community
Partner and Outreach Related Activities
- Administrative and event costs of activities related to brand building and recruitment
- Administrative costs related to establishing partner connections and providing support to game and mobile related companies, causes, and events
