Postgraduation Video Game Development - Studio Zero

Studio Zero is a full-time postgraduate programme in which an entire cohort operates as a single game studio. Over ten months, students take one game idea and develop it through to release on Steam, the largest global digital storefront for PC games, then support it after launch with patches and a first content update. Faculty act as producers and expert advisers rather than lecturers in the traditional sense. They step back as production advances, so that students direct the project and own the decisions. Throughout the year, working professionals from the Portuguese games industry join the team at key points in development and give feedback on the project. In August the cohort spends two weeks in residency at Parque Tecnológico de Óbidos, hosted by the municipality at no additional cost to students, at a decisive stage of production. Graduates leave with a published title on their CV, a genuine production credit, and the studio experience that employers test for.

Cohort size is 15 to 25 students. Formal requirements: - A bachelor's degree or equivalent in game development, game design, computer science, digital art, animation or a related field, or a strong portfolio showing relevant game production experience. - Citizenship of an EU member state (the only geographic restriction of this first cohort). - Professional working proficiency in English, assessed at interview. - Full-time, in-person attendance on campus in Lisbon, Monday to Friday, from 18 January to 19 November 2027. In the cover letter, applicants state a primary track (game design, art, programming or production) and, optionally, a secondary track. This is the role the applicant feels best matches their skills, and they are not expected to fit it perfectly. As with a job application, applicants are assessed on their previous work in relation to the track they choose. Documents to submit: - Proof of identity (national ID card or passport). - Curriculum vitae, covering academic and professional background, tools proficiency and team experience. - Degree certificate, where applicable. Diplomas issued outside Portugal must be legalised by the Portuguese Consulate in the issuing country or bear a Hague Apostille and, if not in Portuguese, Spanish, French or English, be translated into Portuguese by a sworn translator. - Cover letter, stating the chosen tracks and the reasons for joining Studio Zero. - Portfolio: a document (for example, a PDF) with links to relevant work (ArtStation, Git, itch.io, Steam, reference letters, etc.), stating the applicant's contribution to each project. Production-track applicants may submit production documentation (plans, schedules, postmortems). All shortlisted applicants are interviewed in November and receive an answer before the end of the year. No offer is made without an interview. Selection is not a ranking by grades. Because the cohort operates as a single studio, it needs a viable distribution across the four tracks. A strong applicant in a saturated track may be waitlisted in favour of a solid applicant in an under-represented one, or offered a place under their secondary track, always with their agreement. If a viable team cannot be assembled, the programme does not run, even if the minimum headcount is met. On accepting a place, students confirm that they understand roles are assigned by faculty to balance the studio, that the entire cohort works on one game, and that attendance is mandatory and in person.

[Anual] - Studio Formation and Pre-Production - 6 ECTS - Foundations: Pipeline and First Playable Build - 4 ECTS - Production I: Core Features to Alpha Build - 14 ECTS - Production II: Content Lock to Beta - 16 ECTS - Release: Certification, Publishing and Launch - 8 ECTS - Post-Launch: Live Support, Patching and First Content Update - 12 ECTS Total: 60 ECTS

Graduates are prepared for entry to mid-level roles in game studios, in the discipline they specialised in during the programme: - Game design: systems designer, level designer, narrative designer, UX designer, economy designer, technical designer. - Programming: gameplay programmer, engine or tools programmer, AI programmer, UI programmer, build and release engineer, technical generalist. - Art: 3D artist, environment artist, character artist, concept artist, technical artist, VFX artist, animator, UI artist. - Production: associate producer, production assistant, project coordinator, live operations coordinator, release manager, QA coordinator. Because the programme extends beyond prototype development to release and post-launch support, graduates are better prepared for the practical demands of professional game production. They gain experience in areas not commonly encountered in undergraduate project work, including release preparation and store submission, patch and hotfix planning, responding to player feedback, and planning post-launch content. These competences transfer directly to adjacent sectors that use real-time engines and interactive production pipelines: serious and applied games, simulation and training, virtual and augmented reality, architectural and industrial visualisation, interactive installation, film and television virtual production, and interactive advertising. The programme also prepares graduates to start or join an independent studio. Having taken a title through storefront requirements, build submission, age rating, store page preparation, launch and patching, a graduate has performed in practice what independent self-publishing requires. Finally, the shipped title itself functions as professional evidence. A publicly available game with a verifiable credit is a stronger recruitment signal in this industry than a transcript, and it remains permanently visible to employers.

Assessment is continuous and modelled on professional studio practice. Each curricular unit is assessed independently and corresponds to a production phase, so students receive a discrete result at each phase boundary. Each unit is assessed against three components: the student's individual work in their assigned role, including the documentation they produce; the state of the shared product at the phase gate, evaluated against the objectives set for that milestone; and professional conduct throughout, including reporting discipline, responsiveness to feedback and early identification of risk. At designated gates there are reviews with industry professionals, which inform assessment without grading it.