NYU Game Center
NYU Game Center is the Department of Game Design at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, offering BFA and MFA degrees, running a game developer Incubator, and hosting public events and lectures for students, independent developers, and the NYC game community.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersBrooklyn, United States
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What NYU Game Center does
NYU Game Center is the Department of Game Design at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, dedicated to treating games as a cultural form and game design as a creative practice. The department offers formal degree programs (BFA in Game Design, MFA in Game Design) and supplements them with the NYU Game Center Incubator, a competitive program that supports near-finished independent game projects with funding, mentorship, and industry introductions. Incubator alumni titles including APE OUT (Devolver Digital), A Memoir Blue (Annapurna Interactive), Airplane Mode (AMC), and Consume Me have achieved commercial release on platforms such as Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS4/5, Xbox Game Pass, and iOS.
The center hosts a recurring public programming slate anchored by a weekly Playtest Thursdays community session, an industry Lecture Series (featuring guests such as Sid Meier, Jenova Chen, Bennett Foddy, and Chris Plante, streamed on Twitch), the annual Spring Showcase, the No Quarter exhibition commissioning new work from artists, and the Global Game Jam NYC site. Faculty include Bennett Foddy, Eric Zimmerman, Robert Yang, Clara Fernández-Vara, Mitu Khandaker-Kokoris, Matt Boch, and Charles Pratt, with Naomi Clark serving as Department Chair and Dylan McKenzie as Incubator Director.
As a non-profit academic department, NYU Game Center does not generate revenue through commercial product sales. Its funding flows through NYU Tisch's institutional tuition (BFA/MFA students), program grants including a $450,000 Empire State Development award in 2017 that established the NYC Games Hub, and targeted project grants from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The department also maintains an advisory board of 50+ industry professionals and partnerships with publishers (Devolver Digital, Annapurna Interactive, AMC), financial partners (Indie Fund, Oculus Launchpad), and academic peers (York University's ReFiG program).
NYU Game Center firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- NYU Game Center
- Legal name
- New York University
- Website
- https://gamecenter.nyu.edu
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- NYU Game Center is the Department of Game Design at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, offering BFA and MFA degrees, running a game developer Incubator, and hosting public events and lectures for students, independent developers, and the NYC game community.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
NYU Game Center industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Higher Education (Game Design)
- NAICS
- Educational Services (611)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Game Development (Unity, Unreal, 2D/3D) (EDAMACAE)
Keywords
Where NYU Game Center is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brooklyn
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
NYU Game Center business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Tuition and Academic Programs: NYU Game Center generates revenue through MFA and BFA tuition programs at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Revenue model is institutional/educational with standard academic billing cycles.
- Grant Funding: $450,000 grant from Empire State Development for NYC Games Hub digital game development initiatives. Additional funding from Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for game projects with science themes.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
NYU Game Center product offering
Product offeringCore offering
NYU Game Center is the Department of Game Design at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, offering BFA and MFA degree programs in game design, an Incubator program that supports near-finished independent game projects with funding, mentorship, and industry connection, and a slate of community events including the Lecture Series, Playtest Thursdays, the Spring Showcase, the No Quarter exhibition, and the Global Game Jam. The curriculum and incubator work span digital games, board games, VR/AR experiences, tabletop prototyping, and live-action roleplaying (LARP).
Product overview
NYU Game Center is the Department of Game Design at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. It offers undergraduate (BFA) and graduate (MFA) degree programs in game design, along with an Incubator program for game developers, public lecture series, and community events such as Playtest Thursdays and the No Quarter exhibition. The institution does not offer commercial software products or services, but rather educational programs and hosts student/alumni game projects.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- BFA in Game Design Undergraduate degree program in game design at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, covering digital games, board games, VR/AR, tabletop prototyping, and LARP, with access to the Open Library and project-based Game Studio courses.
- MFA in Game Design Two-year graduate degree program in game design at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, leading to thesis projects and portfolio development for aspiring professional game designers.
- NYU Game Center Incubator Part-time competitive incubator program (September 2026 to August 2027 cohort) for near-finished independent game projects, providing $15,000 per team in funding, mentorship from faculty, and access to a 50+ member industry advisory board including publishers, lawyers, consultants, and journalists.
- Future Game Designers Program Semester-long Saturday program for high school students introducing game design concepts and practice as a pre-college pathway into game design.
Quantifiable outcome
- APE OUT, Softbody, Airplane Mode, A Memoir Blue, Sumer and other incubator games achieved commercial releases through major publishers
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use NYU Game Center
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
NYU Game Center technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
NYU Game Center partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- OVR TechnologyminorSponsor for Global Game Jam 2026, providing OVR scent technology for Best Scent Experience award category.
- AMCcorePublished Airplane Mode from incubator via AMC, launched on Steam.
- York University (ReFiG)coreReFig (Refiguring Innovation in Games) partnership with York University provides support for the incubator program, including the ReFIG Incubator Grant for underrepresented developers. 2018 Incubator supported by both Empire State Development and ReFiG.
- Annapurna InteractivecorePublished A Memoir Blue from incubator on Steam, Switch, PS4/5, and Xbox Games Pass.
- Fresh PlanetminorEvent sponsor for NYU Game Center Lecture Series events.
- Take-Two InteractiveminorEvent sponsor for NYU Game Center Lecture Series events.
- DotsminorEvent sponsor for NYU Game Center Lecture Series events.
- ActivisionminorEvent sponsor for NYU Game Center Lecture Series events.
- Vicarious VisionsminorEvent sponsor for NYU Game Center Lecture Series events.
- Devolver DigitalcorePublished APE OUT from Game Center incubator, launched on PC and Nintendo Switch. One of multiple publishers that have worked with incubator games.
- NYU Game Center Incubator Advisory Boardcore50+ industry advisors including representatives from technology companies, publishers, game designers, lawyers, consultants, journalists. Board provides mentorship and guidance to incubator participants.
- NYC Games Hub Advisory BoardcoreAdvisory board of industry professionals including Frank Lantz (NYU Game Center), Dylan McKenzie (NYU Game Center), Naomi Clark (NYU Game Center), Margaret Robertson (Dots), Jason Della Rocca (Execution Labs), Austin Walker (Waypoint), Colleen Macklin (PETLab), Howard Tsao (Muse Games), Justin Hendrix (NYC Media Lab), David Grijns (Defiant Studios)
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
NYU Game Center competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- NYU Tisch School of the Arts: NYU Tisch is the parent school housing the Game Center along with film, dramatic writing, and other arts disciplines. It is the structural incumbent and accreditor of the Game Center's degrees, providing institutional brand value and budgetary oversight.
Others
- IndieCade: IndieCade is a festival and awards body for independent games that has honored NYU Game Center faculty (e.g., Eric Zimmerman's 2021 Big Fun Award). Comparable ecosystem role: both curate and elevate experimental indie game work, though IndieCade is an event organization rather than a degree program.
- Indie Fund: Indie Fund has provided development funding to NYU Game Center incubator games (Softbody, APE OUT). Comparable as a financial partner in the indie game launch pipeline; operates as a crowdfunding-style fund rather than an educational program.
- Global Game Jam: Global Game Jam is the worldwide 48-hour game creation event that NYU Game Center hosts as a NYC site. Comparable as a community-building and pipeline-development activity but operates as a distributed volunteer network rather than an academic institution.
Direct peers
- DigiPen Institute of Technology: DigiPen is a dedicated game development and computer science institute offering BS and MFA-equivalent programs. It is closely comparable to NYU Game Center in mission and curriculum, with a strong record of alumni commercial releases and publisher partnerships.
- USC Games / Interactive Media & Games Division: USC's game design program is the most direct peer — a leading university game design school producing alumni placed at major studios and indie publishers. Competes with NYU Game Center for the same small pool of prospective game design students and offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees.
- Carnegie Mellon Entertainment Technology Center: CMU's ETC is a graduate-level interdisciplinary program building interactive experiences, games, and simulations. Comparable to NYU Game Center's MFA program in target audience (graduate students) and output (experimental games, industry collaborations).
- University of Utah — Entertainment Arts & Engineering: Utah's EAE program is one of the longstanding US university game design programs, offering BS, MS, and PhD tracks. Comparable to NYU Game Center in scale, degree offerings, and focus on both technical and creative game development.
Regional players
- Abertay University — School of Design and Informatics: Abertay (Dundee, Scotland) hosts one of Europe's leading game design programs with strong indie publisher ties. Comparable to NYU Game Center in pedagogical approach and indie game focus, but serves a primarily European applicant pool.
- RMIT University — School of Communication and Design: RMIT (Melbourne) is a leading Asia-Pacific game design program with both undergraduate and postgraduate offerings. Comparable to NYU Game Center in academic depth and industry connection, but serves primarily Australian and APAC students.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
NYU Game Center social profiles
Digital presenceNYU Game Center financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
NYU Game Center leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles16 records
NYU Game Center funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
NYU Game Center M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about NYU Game Center
What does NYU Game Center do?
NYU Game Center is the Department of Game Design at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, offering BFA and MFA degree programs in game design, an Incubator program that supports near-finished independent game projects with funding, mentorship, and industry connection, and a slate of community events including the Lecture Series, Playtest Thursdays, the Spring Showcase, the No Quarter exhibition, and the Global Game Jam. The curriculum and incubator work span digital games, board games, VR/AR experiences, tabletop prototyping, and live-action roleplaying (LARP).
Is NYU Game Center a public or private company?
NYU Game Center is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was NYU Game Center founded?
NYU Game Center was founded in 2014. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is NYU Game Center based?
NYU Game Center is headquartered in Brooklyn, United States, in the North America region.
How does NYU Game Center make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Tuition and Academic Programs are the primary driver. The others are grant Funding.
Who are NYU Game Center's main competitors?
NYU Tisch School of the Arts is listed as a broad incumbent. Others are IndieCade, Indie Fund and Global Game Jam. Direct peers are DigiPen Institute of Technology, USC Games / Interactive Media & Games Division, Carnegie Mellon Entertainment Technology Center and University of Utah — Entertainment Arts & Engineering. Regional players are Abertay University — School of Design and Informatics and RMIT University — School of Communication and Design.
Does NYU Game Center have an API?
No public API is recorded for NYU Game Center.
What industry is NYU Game Center in?
NYU Game Center's product category is Higher Education (Game Design). Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAMACAE, Game Development (Unity, Unreal, 2D/3D). Its NAICS code is 611.