Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy

Name

Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy

Legal name

Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy

Website

https://fiea.ucf.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA) is UCF's 16-month Master of Science in Interactive Entertainment graduate program, preparing students for careers in the game industry through team-based capstone game development at UCF Downtown in Orlando.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Orlando

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Graduate Tuition: Master of Science in Interactive Entertainment program tuition for 16-month full-time graduate education.
2. Commercial Studio Booking: Studio 500 MOCAP stage and soundstage available for booking by commercial clients on a limited basis when scheduling permits.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

FIEA delivers a 16-month, full-time Master of Science in Interactive Entertainment at UCF Downtown in Orlando's Creative Village, organized across three specialization tracks (Production/Design, Art, Programming). The curriculum is built around team-based capstone game development in which 15-20 students publish a complete title through Steam or Xbox, supported by hands-on training in C++, Unity, Unreal Engine 5, and the Studio 500 motion capture facility, plus supplemental GameLab and Digital Venture Practicum courses.

Product overview

Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA) offers a single unified product: the Master of Science in Interactive Entertainment, a 16-month graduate program at UCF Downtown in Orlando. The program operates across three specialization tracks - Production/Design (Level Design, Tech Design, Project Management), Art (3D Modeling, Technical Art, Animation), and Programming - that students select during enrollment. The curriculum centers on team-based capstone game development where 15-20 student teams create publishable games, supplemented by GameLab projects for non-gaming industries and Digital Venture Practicum for entrepreneurship. Studio 500 provides motion capture and soundstage facilities for hands-on learning. Students graduate with industry-ready portfolio work, having collaborated across disciplines in an industry-simulated environment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Master of Science in Interactive Entertainment 16-month, full-time graduate degree offered across four semesters at UCF Downtown in Orlando's Creative Village, preparing students for careers in the game industry across three specialization tracks: Production/Design (Level Design, Tech Design, Project Management), Art (3D Modeling, Technical Art, Animation), and Programming. Curriculum centers on a team-based capstone where 15-20 students publish a full game through preproduction, production, alpha, and beta phases, with many titles released on Steam and Xbox. Designed for individuals holding an undergraduate degree who want an industry-simulated portfolio and direct employer access.
• Studio 500 Motion Capture and Soundstage Facility World-class 3,300 sq ft motion capture stage with a 1,500 sq ft capture volume equipped with 24 Vicon Vantage cameras and Shogun software, plus a 3,500 sq ft soundstage with a 22 ft grid and 96-point ETC dimming system. Available to commercial film, advertising, and game clients on a limited booking basis when academic scheduling permits, in addition to primary use by FIEA students, UCF research, and student films.
• FIEA Collegiate Game Jam Annual game development competition held at Creative Village in which undergraduate and graduate teams build a playable game from scratch in 44-48 hours, attracting students from across Florida.

Quantifiable outcome

• 85% of graduates work in desired fields at 400+ companies worldwide
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered supporting, core and minor.

• Meta (formerly Oculus)supportingTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025Meta provided technical support for FIEA Funhouse VR project during GameLab course. Team had opportunity to meet with VR tool developers and receive guidance on implementing features like redirected walking.
• UnitysupportingTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025Unity engineers provided technical guidance to FIEA students on VR development, specifically for FIEA Funhouse redirected walking implementation.
• Epic Games (Unreal Engine)supportingTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025Unreal Engine 5 engineers provided technical guidance to FIEA students on VR development features.
• Electronic Arts (EA) TiburoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2019EA Tiburon moved headquarters adjacent to FIEA at Creative Village in 2021. Over 100 FIEA graduates employed at EA Tiburon with over a dozen current interns. EA stated '1 out of every 2 new graduates hired over the past 2 years.' EA Vice President Daryl Holt called FIEA 'a premiere pipeline for university talent coming into EA SPORTS and our EA-Tiburon studio.'
• EA SPORTScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEA SPORTS Development Director Zachary Karlins '19 stated importance of 'industry-simulated environment' at FIEA. 42 FIEA alumni credited on College Football 25, developed primarily at EA Tiburon. EA Tiburon located across from UCF Downtown at Creative Village.
• Commercial Clients (Film & Advertising)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStudio 500 MOCAP stage and soundstage serve student/research use primarily but can be booked by commercial clients on limited basis. Served as sets for feature films, student shorts, and commercials for BBDO & Go Films (Gillette Commercial with Tiger Woods, Derek Jeter & Roger Federer), T-Mobile, 3M, GoConvergence and Electronic Arts.
• University of Central FloridacoreOthersFIEA is UCF's graduate interactive entertainment program. Located at UCF Downtown campus in Creative Village alongside Valencia College. Students have access to UCF resources including Financial Aid, MyUCF portal, Graduate Studies, and Academic Calendar.
• UCF I-Corps ProgramsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerErik Sand, Director of Strategic Partnerships, serves as business mentor in UCF's I-Corps program that helps researchers and entrepreneurs turn research into business opportunities.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• NYU Game Center: NYU Game Center offers an MFA in Game Design with an emphasis on experimental and indie game development. It competes with FIEA for top graduate applicants and is consistently ranked alongside FIEA in Princeton Review's graduate game design listings.
• Carnegie Mellon Entertainment Technology Center: CMU's ETC offers a graduate Master's in Entertainment Technology with a project-based, interdisciplinary model directly analogous to FIEA's capstone approach. Both compete for top graduate applicants and industry ranking visibility (Princeton Review).
• Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Game Design: RIT's School of Interactive Games and Media offers BS and MS programs in game design and development with strong industry placement. It competes with FIEA in the Princeton Review rankings and shares a similar cohort-based, studio-style curriculum.
• Full Sail University: Full Sail is a Florida-based for-profit institution offering game design, development, and media degrees with strong industry partnerships. It competes with FIEA for the same Florida applicant pool and industry recruiter attention, particularly through its own MOCAP facilities and project-based learning model.
• USC Games (University of Southern California): USC Games is one of the most prestigious interdisciplinary game programs in the world, spanning the Viterbi School and School of Cinematic Arts. It competes with FIEA at the top of the Princeton Review rankings and for placement at major studios in the western US.
• Guildhall at SMU: SMU Guildhall is one of the longest-running graduate game development programs in the US, with a similar Master's-level, cohort-based, capstone-driven curriculum. It directly competes with FIEA for graduate game applicants and industry hiring pipelines.
• DigiPen Institute of Technology: DigiPen is widely regarded as the most direct peer to FIEA — a specialized institution offering Bachelor's and Master's programs in game development, with similarly rigorous project-based curricula and shipped student games. Both compete for the same top-tier game development applicants.
• Abertay University (Game Design & Development): Abertay is one of Europe's leading game development programs, consistently ranked among the world's top game schools. It shares FIEA's emphasis on hands-on development, shipped student games, and industry partnerships (notably with Dundee/Scotland's game studio cluster).
• Vancouver Film School - Game Design: VFS Game Design offers intensive, project-based game development programs with strong industry ties in Vancouver's major studio ecosystem. While regionally focused on Canada, it competes globally for international game development students and shares FIEA's cohort-and-capstone pedagogical model.

Emerging players

• Media Design School (Game Programming): Media Design School in Auckland offers specialized game programming and 3D animation programs with similar intensive, project-based structures. While primarily competing in the Australasian market, it is increasingly drawing international game development students and competing globally for the same applicant profile FIEA targets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FIEA
• YouTubeyoutube.com/ucffiea
• Facebookfacebook.com/UCFFIEA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/florida-interactive-entertainment-academy
• Instagraminstagram.com/ucffiea

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy