Student gamers to showcase new companies at top UK expo

Video games made by students from three companies set up during studies at Wrexham Glyndwr University are set to be showcased alongside the latest releases by the likes of Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft.

Visitors to this year’s EGX 2017 – the biggest video game industry event of its kind in the UK – will be able to see work produced by Ethereal Games, Round Square Studios and Static Shell Studios.

The start-ups consist of Wrexham Glyndwr University alumni and final year students from its Computer Game Development course.

As well as exhibiting, all three companies will be pitching for £25,000 of developer grants from the UK Games Fund at the NEC, Birmingham, as part of the Tranzfuser programme.

The competition aims to equip students with the armoury to commercialise their demo products, encouraging the creation of business plans and providing them with business mentoring.

Rich Hebblewhite, programme leader for Wrexham Glyndwr University’s Computer Game Development degree, said: “EGX is recognised around the world as one of the top games exhibitions and trade shows, and we are pleased to be attending as a partner and exhibitor within the Games Industry.Biz Career Fair area of the event.

“Our own game development course has a good reputation for producing high quality graduates, and we will be available throughout the EGX event to show samples of our excellent student work and to speak to anyone considering a career within the games industry.”

Wrexham Glyndwr University was chosen as one of only 12 Regional Tranzfuser Hubs in the UK and EGX is the final event in the Tranzfuser programme for 2017, marking the culmination of three months’ work from the student teams.

“I’m very proud of our three student indie teams,” added Rich. “They have worked extremely hard to produce top quality games that will now be exhibited alongside some of the world biggest names.

“One of our most important goals at WGU is supporting and growing the local and regional games industry, and being part of Tranzfuser as a regional development hub has helped us to grow into that role in a bigger way.

“We will be supporting our teams as they pitch for substantial investment that will see them embark on their careers as games developers, and more importantly, business owners.”

With some of the world’s leading video game developers in attendance, EGX will feature many of the most anticipated console and PC games available to play weeks or even months before they are due to be released commercially.

This year, there will be developer talks by the makers of games such as Middle Earth:Shadow of War, Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 and XCOM2.

Other show highlights include esports tournaments for games including Street Fighter V and Overwatch, and spaces dedicated to traditional tabletop and retro gaming.

Those looking to begin a career in games can get valuable advice by visiting the Games Industry.Biz Careers Fair, where WGU is an event partner and will be exhibiting throughout the event alongside the UKs top destinations for games related courses.

More information about EGX 2017 can be found here.