Cologne Game Lab

What Cologne Game Lab does

Cologne Game Lab (CGL) is an educational and research institute of TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences, founded in 2010 and headquartered at Schanzenstraße 28, Köln-Mülheim, Germany. It delivers four accredited programs — a B.A. in Digital Games plus three Master's degrees (Digital Games, Game Development & Research, and the 3D Animation for Film & Games program run jointly with ifs Internationale Filmschule Köln), as well as collaborative PhD projects — with instruction in English. Annual intake is capped at roughly 40 B.A. and ~50 M.A. students, with the current concurrent cohort at about 250 students drawn from 45 nations against an applicant pool of approximately 800.

The institute's technology footprint spans game development education across PC games, AR/VR, mobile applications, and film/TV formats, supported by proprietary research threads in procedural narratives, body-based design for XR, and immersive media pedagogy. Research outputs are channeled through three recurring formats: the Clash of Realities international research conference, the SomaFest XR festival, and EU/regional projects including Horizon Europe–funded STRATEGIES work and NEXT.IN.NRW selections such as Gen-AIvatar. Alumni-founded studios (Slow Bros., neoludic games, The Good Evil GmbH, Goodwolf Studio, Ludopium) have collected multiple Deutscher Computerspielpreis and Deutscher Entwicklerpreis awards, and the Antura & The Letters serious game reached over 250,000 users.

CGL is financed as a public university institute under North Rhine-Westphalia state appropriations through TH Köln, with additional research funding from EU and regional grants and nominal student semester fees under German state-subsidized tuition; revenue is not publicly disclosed. The institute is governed by a board chaired by Björn Bartholdy (Head of Institute) with Nanette Kaulig (Teaching), Sonia Fizek (Research), and Odile Limpach (Incubation), following the 2025 retirement of co-founder Prof. Dr. Gundolf S. Freyermuth. Leadership comprises nine professors, ~21 total staff, and operations include a Game Starter Foundry incubator and active presence at gamescom and industry events.

Name

Cologne Game Lab

Legal name

Cologne Game Lab, TH-Köln – University of Applied Sciences

Website

https://colognegamelab.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cologne Game Lab (CGL) is the game-development and game-research institute of TH Köln University of Applied Sciences. It runs four accredited programs (B.A. and three M.A. tracks including a joint 3D Animation program with ifs), serves ~250 concurrent students from 45 nations, and operates research projects, an incubator, and annual conferences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Game Development Education

NAICS

Computer Training (611420), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

akta.pro primary industry

Game Development (Unity, Unreal, 2D/3D) (EDAMACAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Serious Games & Simulation Studios (Training, Defense, Enterprise) (MPAFAAAH), Digital Labs, Simulations & Virtual Practicals (Non-XR) (EDAFACAF), STEM & Lab Simulation Media (Virtual Labs, AR/VR) (EDAGALAF)

Keywords

• Game development education
• Game design research
• Higher education programs
• XR research
• Game studio incubation

Headquarters

HQ city

Köln

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Public University Funding: As an institute of TH Köln - University of Applied Sciences, CGL is funded through public university budgets and government educational funding. Students may pay semester fees but tuition is largely subsidized by German state.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Cologne Game Lab is an educational institute of TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences offering degree programs in game development and research, including a B.A. in Digital Games and three Master's programs (M.A. Digital Games, M.A. Game Development & Research, M.A. 3D Animation for Film & Games), plus collaborative PhD programs. Alongside degree education, CGL operates the Game Starter Foundry incubator for early-stage game studios and conducts research projects in AR/VR, procedural narratives, serious games, and body-based design for XR. The institute also hosts the annual Clash of Realities international research conference on the art, technology, and theory of digital games.

Product overview

Cologne Game Lab is an educational institute of TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences offering undergraduate and graduate education in game development and research. The institution provides four degree programs: B.A. Digital Games (undergraduate), M.A. Digital Games, M.A. Game Development & Research, and M.A. 3D Animation for Film & Games (postgraduate). The programs work together as an integrated academic pathway from foundational bachelor's education through specialized master's degrees and collaborative doctoral research. Alongside formal education, CGL operates an incubator (Game Starter Foundry), produces research projects like Antura & The Letters, and hosts the annual Clash of Realities international conference. The institute is located at Schanzenstraße 28 in Köln-Mülheim, serving approximately 250 students from 45 nations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• B.A. Digital Games Undergraduate bachelor's degree program in game development where students specialize in Game Design, Arts, or Programming from the third semester onwards, covering concept development, artistic design, sound, and economic aspects of starting a company. For prospective undergraduate students.
• M.A. Digital Games Consecutive master's degree program following the B.A. Digital Games, providing advanced study in digital games development. For prospective graduate students.
• M.A. Game Development & Research Part-time project-oriented master's program focused on game development and academic research, offered since 2010. For prospective graduate students and working professionals.
• M.A. 3D Animation for Film & Games Intermedia master's program conducted in cooperation with ifs (Internationale Filmschule Köln), focusing on 3D animation for both film and games. For prospective graduate students.
• Collaborative PhD Programs

Quantifiable outcome

• Alumni-founded studios have won multiple awards including German Computer Game Awards and German Developer Awards
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Digital ClayminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Digital Clay joined the Game Starter Foundry, CGL's incubation program supporting early-stage game studios. Founded in India and now based in Cologne, Digital Clay is an award-winning animation and immersive media studio.
• ifs (Internationale Filmschule Köln)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Cooperation agreement for the first Intermedia Master '3D Animation for Film & Games' program launched in 2018. Shared graduate program between CGL and ifs, combining game development expertise with film animation education.
• Broken Paternoster GamesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIncubated game studio at CGL, developing games like Soil Siege through the Game Starter Foundry program.
• neoludic gamescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCGL alumni-founded studio (Raven Rusch, David Wildemann, Maurice Andreas) that developed Tiny Bookshop, winning multiple awards including Best German Game 2025. Represented CGL at gamescom and Nintendo Indie World Showcase.
• Slow Bros.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCGL alumni studio behind Harold Halibut, which won Best Visual Design at German Computer Game Awards 2025 and Best Graphics at German Developer Awards 2024.
• The Good Evil GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCGL alumni-founded studio (Linda Kruse and Marcus after graduating) that developed SQUIRREL&BÄR and received multiple awards including German Game Developers Award 2014 for Best Kids Game.
• Prussian Palaces and Gardens FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint research collaboration for Border Zone project - a story-based AR game app at Park Babelsberg, combining historical education with augmented reality technology.
• Goethe InstitutminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch cooperation with Museums, Goethe Institut, and Universities on various projects including cultural heritage education through games.
• STRATEGIES Consortium (Horizon Europe)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCGL researchers co-authored the STRATEGIES sustainability report - Sustainable Transition for Europe's Game Industries, featured by the UN's Playing for the Planet Alliance. Part of EU Horizon Europe funding.
• NEXT.IN.NRW Innovation Competition ParticipantsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTwo CGL projects selected from 76 submissions for NEXT.IN.NRW innovation competition, including Gen-AIvatar collaboration with MindPort (Bonn) and University of Bonn.
• University of CologneminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint research collaboration including Mixed Reality in Kulturvermittlung course and CGL research team projects.
• ISEDA Project ConsortiumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCGL coordinates ISEDA project (Innovative Solutions to Eliminate Domestic Abuse), developing serious games for interview scenario simulation with European partnership.
• Spoonful Studios (Bauhaus Bonk)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCGL alumni nominated for German Developer Award 2025 with Bauhaus Bonk game.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Abertay University: UK university widely regarded as a leading game-design school (B.Sc. Computer Games, M.Des. Game Design) with a comparable small-school feel, public funding, applied research focus and an incubator-style industry engagement that mirrors CGL's Game Starter Foundry model.
• NYU Game Center: NYU's game-design degree program (BFA in Game Design, MFA in Game Design) operating in a research-university setting with English-language instruction, strong alumni studio pipeline and an active public-events/community calendar analogous to CGL's Clash of Realities.
• Breda University of Applied Sciences (BUas): Dutch university of applied sciences (B.Sc./M.Sc. in Creative Media and Game Technologies) with applied-research focus, small cohorts and industry-linked studios, very similar profile to TH Köln / Cologne Game Lab.
• DigiPen Institute of Technology: Degree-granting game development school (B.A./M.S. in Computer Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation, MFA in Digital Arts) covering the same curriculum pillars (design, programming, art) as CGL's B.A. Digital Games / M.A. Digital Games tracks.
• Staffordshire University (Games Design): UK university with long-running B.Sc./M.A. games programs, recognized games-industry links, public-university funding model and research/applied split comparable to CGL's structure.
• HTW Berlin – University of Applied Sciences (Game Design): German public university of applied sciences offering a B.A./M.A. in Game Design, the most direct domestic competitor for German-speaking game-design applicants and a natural peer for benchmarking Germany's public-sector game education.
• IT University of Copenhagen: Danish public university offering M.Sc. in Games and a game-design research track, comparable to CGL in Nordic/European game-design academic positioning, research output, and English-language international recruitment.
• ENJMIN (École nationale du jeu et des médias interactifs numériques): French national game school offering Master in Game Design/Programming (under Cnam); referenced directly in CGL data because Prof. Cécile le Prado created its sound-design department. Closest continental European comparable in mandate and curriculum.
• University of Skövde: Swedish public university with one of Europe's most established game development degree programs (B.Sc./M.Sc. in Game Design & Graphics), comparable in age, scale (~250+ game students), public funding model, research output and incubator-style industry links to CGL.

Others

• ifs internationale filmschule köln: CGL's co-delivery partner for the M.A. 3D Animation for Film & Games; a Cologne-based creative higher-education institution collaborating on curriculum, faculty and facilities — adjacent rather than competitive.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/colognegamelab
• Instagraminstagram.com/colognegamelab
• Xx.com/colognegamelab
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cologne-game-lab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cologne Game Lab