Rice–Eccles Stadium, an out of doors school soccer venue on the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, stands in opposition to a shocking mountain backdrop.
University of Utah
This article is a part of CNBC’s Cities of Success sequence, which explores cities which have remodeled into enterprise hubs with an entrepreneurial spirit and attracted capital, firms and workers.
The online game business in Utah has turn into a powerhouse, rising greater than 230% within the final decade and bringing in additional than $2.3 billion in income final yr.
And it isn’t stopping: The market is predicted to achieve a formidable $4.5 billion in financial contribution inside 5 years, in accordance with market analysis agency IBISWorld.
One of the important thing drivers behind the expansion is the University of Utah’s cutting-edge online game program.
Inside a classroom in Salt Lake City, college students listed below are immersed in finding out video video games — not simply enjoying them, but in addition creating them, fueling an business that has deep roots on the campus.
Those have been the type of folks I needed on my group.
Donald Mustard
Former Epic Games chief artistic officer, ‘Fortnite’ co-creator
The college boasts a legacy that features business luminaries Doug Bowser, president of Nintendo of America, and Nolan Bushnell, founding father of Atari and creator of the long-lasting recreation “Pong.”
Alumni of the varsity have gone on to create video games producing greater than $2 billion in lifetime income, in accordance with the college.
“There have been only a complete host of people that got here right here to go to highschool after which graduated and have been pivotal within the video games business,” Michael Young, chair of the University of Utah’s division of video games, mentioned in an interview for CNBC’s “Cities of Success: Salt Lake City,” which premieres Dec. 10 at 10 p.m. ET.
Leveling up
| Name | Achievement |
|---|---|
| Doug Bowser | President of Nintendo of America |
| Nolan Bushnell | Founder of Atari, Creator of “Pong” |
| John Blackburn | Vice President and Studio Head at WB’s Avalanche Studios, Lead on “Hogwarts Legacy” |
| Ed Catmull | Co-founder of Pixar, Former President of Walt Disney Animation Studios |
| Richard Evans | Pioneer in AI for Video Games, Known for “The Sims” |
Before it grew to become a formalized program, the University of Utah’s gaming initiative started modestly throughout the laptop science division, in accordance with Young.
It wasn’t till 2008, when a gaggle of scholars proposed a devoted gaming space of examine, that it gained traction.
By 2010, the leisure arts and engineering program, recognized round campus as EAE, was established with a structured curriculum with a devoted concentrate on gaming and interactive leisure.
In 2017, the EAE program launched a bachelor’s diploma in gaming, marking a big step in its improvement. By 2021, it had turn into the college’s Tenth-largest main, attracting round 1,200 undergraduates annually.
“The demand has simply skyrocketed,” Young mentioned.
In the Princeton Review’s 2024 rankings for high recreation design faculties, the University of Utah rose to No. 4 for each undergraduate and graduate applications, up from No. 7 and No. 6, respectively, in 2023.
Today, this system attracts a worldwide pupil physique, with 72% of its graduate college students coming from outdoors Utah.
The college has dedicated $25 million to help additional growth of this system.
Top-grossing video games
John Blackburn, vp and studio head at Avalanche Software, a division of WB Games, Inc., and a University of Utah alumnus, credit the success of 2023’s bestselling recreation, “Hogwarts Legacy,” to a gifted group in Salt Lake City that features many graduates of the college.
The recreation surpassed $1 billion in income final yr.
Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket by way of Getty Images
“There are most likely not less than 30 folks right here instantly from that program,” Blackburn mentioned.
According to Blackburn, the University of Utah’s contributions to the gaming business prolong again to pioneering work in 3-D graphics, together with the creation of the primary 3-D graphics picture and the event of early flight simulators by firms comparable to Evans & Sutherland.
“That has actually bled into the native video games scene,” mentioned Blackburn. “And so folks depart these firms after which make recreation firms.”
Blackburn cofounded Avalanche Software in 1995, initially gaining recognition for its improvement of “Mortal Kombat” for the Super Nintendo and Genesis and later growing a status with titles comparable to “Cars” and “Toy Story 3” throughout its collaboration with Disney.
In 2017, Epic Games, headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, launched “Fortnite” — one of many world’s hottest video games, with greater than 500 million registered customers.
Teams from all over the world contributed to its creation, together with some in Salt Lake City, the place Donald Mustard, former chief artistic officer at Epic and the sport’s co-creator, was primarily based.
“The University of Utah and [Brigham Young University], in addition to a number of the different faculties in Utah, have performed a extremely good job constructing relationships with the builders which are within the space,” Mustard mentioned.
He additionally highlighted Utah’s distinctive method to training: “While a few of these college students are at school, they need to make their very own online game. That’s a really distinctive ability set that not lots of people have.”
“Those have been the type of folks I needed on my group,” Mustard mentioned.
