FAQs

Events & Timelines

✅ You become a candidate for Into Games’ Boost Placement Programme, offering paid flexible work experience placements in UK games studios. (More about this in the “What is the Boost Placement Programme?” section)

✅ Travel and accommodation for at Develop:Brighton. Together with an invite to our Working Class in Games meet-up and bespoke opportunities to grow your network

✅ Free access to our new Games Career Launchpad course and additional training by industry professionals to grow your skills

✅ Lots of press and attention to you and your work

✅ A CV or Portfolio Review by games industry volunteers

✅ A virtual badge to show off on your profile

✅ Free Slow Game Club Membership worth over £250 – with hand-picked monthly games and a community to discuss the experience

✅ Mention in a feature that goes out to the Into Games Partners network & their hiring teams

✅ Special Role and access to an exclusive channel on the Into Games Discord that allows you to connect with your fellow IG50 winners and attend special events for the cohort

… and more!

The deadline for submission is Sunday, May 2026 at 23:59. Anything after that date will not be looked at by our judges.

Winners will be contacted between June 8 - 12 2026 to confirm their participation. Please make sure emails from “@intogames.org” can reach you, so it doesn’t end up in spam.

We will announce the winners publicly in early July. The announcements will be shared on Into Games’ main social media channels – LinkedIn & Bluesky, as well as a partner newsletter.

Yes! This is our fifth year, and we look forward to continuously improving so it serves both nominees and hiring studios in the best possible way!

If you want to get involved with future iterations of the event, please reach out to hello@intogames.org .

The event is hosted by Into Games and sponsored by Ubisoft

Into Games' mission is to create a fair and equitable pathway to skill development and career progression in games and immersive industries. We work to remove barriers to entry and provide practical guidance, low-cost training and industry connections at the right moment and place for anyone, no matter their background or circumstance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nominees have to fulfil the following main criteria to be eligible for the IG50 2026:

They must either live in the UK and/or have the right to work in the UK.
They can’t be in full-time education past August 2026
They come from a working-class or low-income background (see next question)
They either
- haven’t worked in a paid, full-time role in the games sector before (for more than 6 months) or
- looking to re-enter the games sector and have not worked in the same role before. e.g. a previous programmer wanting to be a community manager.

Whether you’re currently unemployed, a graduate or someone seeking to change careers from another sector; if you have a vision for the role you want to do, we want to hear from you.

We’ve gathered a list of commonly used criteria that indicate a working-class or low-income background in the UK.

Our working definition is that at least one of the following situations was true for you for a period of one year or more before the age of 18:

You were eligible for free school meals in a UK school (whether or not you claimed them).
Your parent(s) or guardian(s) received Universal Credit, Income Support, ESA, DSA, Housing Benefit, or a similar support programme.
You lived in social housing, temporary accommodation, or experienced unstable housing. Examples might include growing up in a council flat, living in a hostel, or staying with friends or relatives because of housing issues.
You spent time in care or were looked after by the local authority.
Your parent(s) or guardian(s) earned a combined income under £35,000 per year.
Your family experienced difficulty affording basic necessities such as food, heating, housing, or transport.
Your parent(s) or guardian(s) worked in one of the following kinds of roles:
- Routine or manual labour (e.g. cleaner, warehouse worker, delivery driver)
- Skilled trades (e.g. hairdresser, plumber, mechanic)
- Clerical or support roles (e.g. receptionist, call centre staff)

We ask this to help us better understand who our campaign is reaching, and where we can do more to support access into the games industry. It also helps us build a clearer picture of how the job market can better reflect the UK’s full range of backgrounds and experiences.

If you meet any of the above but don’t feel comfortable sharing which one, you can select “One or more of the above, but I don’t want to disclose the details” — this option is here to protect your privacy on a trust-basis. Your responses will never be shared with judges, the public or any third parties and only serve to create anonymised data reports and check your eligibility.

We also know this list may not cover every experience. If you identify as working-class or from a low-income background but don’t see yourself reflected here — especially if you didn’t grow up in the UK — feel free to select “Other” and tell us a bit more. We’re committed to listening and learning from the real experiences people have had.

We’ve gathered a list of commonly used criteria that indicate a working-class or low-income background in the UK.

Our working definition is that at least one of the following situations was true for you for a period of one year or more before the age of 18:

You were eligible for free school meals in a UK school (whether or not you claimed them).
Your parent(s) or guardian(s) received Universal Credit, Income Support, ESA, DSA, Housing Benefit, or a similar support programme.
You lived in social housing, temporary accommodation, or experienced unstable housing. Examples might include growing up in a council flat, living in a hostel, or staying with friends or relatives because of housing issues.
You spent time in care or were looked after by the local authority.
Your parent(s) or guardian(s) earned a combined income under £35,000 per year.
Your family experienced difficulty affording basic necessities such as food, heating, housing, or transport.
Your parent(s) or guardian(s) worked in one of the following kinds of roles:
- Routine or manual labour (e.g. cleaner, warehouse worker, delivery driver)
- Skilled trades (e.g. hairdresser, plumber, mechanic)
- Clerical or support roles (e.g. receptionist, call centre staff)

Boost is an initiative to get IG50 winners real games industry experience with a studio.

Studios provide meaningful work in a discipline they need help with, and Into Games pays the candidate’s wage!

During our pilot project in 2025, we matched up 11 studios and 11 candidates.

There will be at least 10 available placements for 2026, with a chance to unlock further seats depending on funding.

Studios will be given a list of IG50 winners who registered their interest in a placement and asked to directly apply for the winners they’d love to have in their teams.

The placements usually span 198 hours, which can be done full-time (5 days a week for 5.6 weeks) or part-time (2,3, or 4 days a week for 6-12 weeks), depending on candidate and studio availability. They are paid based on the Living Wage guidelines and are completed on a freelance basis.

To find out more about Boost 2026, you can read the Boost Candidate FAQ here.

Boost is an initiative to get IG50 winners real games industry experience with a studio.

Studios provide meaningful work in a discipline they need help with, and Into Games pays the candidate’s wage!

During our pilot project in 2025, we matched up 11 studios and 11 candidates.

There will be at least 10 available placements for 2026, with a chance to unlock further seats depending on funding.

Studios will be given a list of IG50 winners who registered their interest in a placement and asked to directly apply for the winners they’d love to have in their teams.

To find out more about Boost 2026, you can read the Boost Candidate FAQ here.

Yes, please! We encourage everyone who meets the criteria and has with a vision for a games role to put themselves forward. We understand that it can be hard to talk about why you think you’d be a good fit – especially if you’ve been trying to get a job for a while.

We would love for you to think about your skills and past projects – maybe ask some friends or family to tell you what they appreciate about you and how you could use that.

If you want some support with wording your nomination, you could also drop into the Into Games Discord and get feedback from others on how to complete your entry.

No, but you can encourage them to apply and offer your support!

The IG50 champions individuals from lower-income or working-class backgrounds. To ensure authenticity, only self-nominations are accepted – this way, we know that applicants are happy to be spotlighted under this initiative and feel they meet the criteria.

If you have someone in mind who you know would be perfect for this, here’s what we recommend you do:

Tell them why! Share specific examples of their impact and skills that you think are worth celebrating.
Offer support – help them draft their application or ask how you can help!
Highlight the benefits – winners gain employability support, industry connections, CV reviews, visibility and more!

If you want to complete your application form, here is what you can prepare:

Ensure you meet this year’s eligibility criteria, as the first few questions will check candidates on this
Your CV
Working links to your portfolio or a work sample
Links to LinkedIn or other social media presence
Your dream role
An answer to the question “Which skills make you a great candidate for this role?”. Tell the judges what experience, tools & transferrable skills make you a great match for your dream role (max. 800 characters)
An answer to the question “Tell us about one project you worked on to grow your skills for this role: What's the project & what did it teach you?”. The project can either be from a course or degree, work, or a passion project like a game jam or solo-project. This is your chance to display your progress & ability to learn (max. 600 characters)
Optional: Have a little pitch for your winner card ready, that completes the sentence “You should hire me as a <your dream job> because…” (max. 120 characters). This can also be provided once you’ve won.

Only whether you are part of a low-income or working-class background, since this year’s initiative is only target at this group.

The other question is optional.

We ask for this information for two reasons:

It allows us to ensure we showcase people from underrepresented or disadvantaged backgrounds.
We use the data to increase our platform reach if we notice a lack of nominations from certain backgrounds; we want this list to be representative of the diverse talent that’s out there.

We do not share the details of the criteria with any of the judges, studio partners or third parties. These answers will only be seen by the organisers of the competition to confirm eligibility criteria.

On the application form, you’ll be asked to share whether you identify part of an underrepresented or disadvantaged community or group. It is not a mandatory question, but it helps us see what kind of demographics we reach and who we’re missing.

Here are our definitions of the terms in the form. We are aware that it is easy to accidentally exclude groups, so have also added the option “Other” so you can add terms of your own, which we will review.

• Women: Individuals who identify as a woman, regardless of their assigned sex at birth.

• Non-Binary and Gender-Diverse Individuals: Individuals whose gender identity does not exclusively align with the binary categories of male or female. This encompasses non-binary people, genderfluid or genderqueer individuals, and those with other diverse gender identities.

• LGBTQIA+: Individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, or other diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. It is inclusive of all sexual orientations and gender identities beyond heterosexual and cisgender.

• Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC): Individuals from underrepresented ethnic minorities or communities.

• Neurodivergent: Individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning difficulties (e.g. dyslexia, dyscalculia), conditions affecting coordination (e.g. dyspraxia) or other neurodevelopmental conditions (e.g. Tourette syndrome). This includes self-diagnosis and clinical diagnosis.

• Disabilities & long-term physical or mental conditions: Individuals with physical, sensory, cognitive, or mental health impairments that may impact their daily functioning or interactions for more than 12 months. Conditions might impact hearing, mobility, vision, information processing, learning & concentration, mental health (e.g. depression, anxiety) or stamina & breathing.

If you currently work within the games industry in any paid long-term position, that excludes you from participation.

If you currently don’t work in the industry, but had a different role previously within the games space, your application will be considered, if it is part of a discipline change.

We understand that there are certain grey-zones in those definitions, so here are a few edge cases and our guidelines around them:

If you work in games freelance and don’t have enough regular work to sustain yourself, you can apply
If you run your own studio and do so unpaid (no funding, no sustainable income from self-published games), you will be considered – but it’s worth making this clear in your application, as listing a current role in a studio might be flagged in the judging process
If you are doing a short-term placement for university or other educational schemes, but don’t have an employment contract beyond the set time, you can apply
If you work part-time in games but are an employee/on PAYEE, this would be considered a paid position and exclude you from the list

This is because we’re focussing on providing access and exposure to those who have not yet had the chance to build a network and contacts within the industry space.

Art spans all kinds of creative roles that produce 2D or 3D art, such as Art or Technical Director, Character Artist, Concept Artist, Environment Artist, Storyboard Artist, UI Designer or other related roles. For Technical Art, please apply to “Animation and VFX”
Animation & VFX includes roles that bring 3D assets to live within the game or work on the more technical side of art. Roles include Animators, Technical Animators, Lighting Artists, Graphics Programmers & Technical Artists as well as VFX artists.
Audio includes all roles revolving around sounds, such as Composer, Sound Designer, Foley Artist, or Voice-Actor. We also recommend Audio Programmers apply to this category.
Design & Narrative includes all roles that involve designing systems and solutions in the realm of the games, such as Economy Designer, Game Designer, Gameplay Designer, Level Designer, Narrative Designer, System Designer and User Experience Designer, as well as Design Managers.
General is for the nuts and bolts that hold a studio together. In this category, we welcome all other core roles in a studio, such as game translators, accounting and finance roles, lawyers, senior managers, IT & backend engineers, Office Managers & Receptionists, HR specialists, DEI consultants, Accessibility consultants, Personal and Studio Assistants and any other role you can think of – if it’s not on the list elsewhere, this is the category for you.
Marketing & Community is for any roles that engage with customers and the audience in any way, this might include Campaign Managers, Community Managers, Directors & Assistants, Games Journalists, Games Publishers, Graphic Artists, Marketing Assistants & Managers, PR Managers or Performance Marketing Leads.
Production is for the folks who oversee the development process of video games, managing schedules, budgets, resources, and teams to ensure projects are completed successfully and on time, Roles in this category include Producers of all levels, Coordinators, Business Development Managers, Agile Delivery Managers and any type of Project Manager.
Programming and Technical is for all sorts of coding specialists and technical roles like Tech Artists, AI Programmers, DevOps, Engine Programmers, Fullstack Programmers, Gameplay Programmers, Generalist Programmers, Graphics Programmers, Network Programmers, Physics Programmers, VR or AR Programmers. If you are applying to be a Technical Artists, we recommend selecting Animation & VFX as a category instead, and Audio Programmers apply to Audio.
QA professionals ensure the quality and functionality of video games by identifying and reporting bugs, glitches, and issues. Roles in this category include QA Testers and Leads, QA Analysts, QA Engineers, Playtesters, Test Automation Specialists or Localisation QA.

Art spans all kinds of creative roles that produce 2D or 3D art, such as Art or Technical Director, Character Artist, Concept Artist, Environment Artist, Storyboard Artist, UI Designer or other related roles. For Technical Art, please apply to “Animation and VFX”
Animation & VFX includes roles that bring 3D assets to live within the game or work on the more technical side of art. Roles include Animators, Technical Animators, Lighting Artists, Graphics Programmers & Technical Artists as well as VFX artists.
Audio includes all roles revolving around sounds, such as Composer, Sound Designer, Foley Artist, or Voice-Actor. We also recommend Audio Programmers apply to this category.
Design & Narrative includes all roles that involve designing systems and solutions in the realm of the games, such as Economy Designer, Game Designer, Gameplay Designer, Level Designer, Narrative Designer, System Designer and User Experience Designer, as well as Design Managers.
General is for the nuts and bolts that hold a studio together. In this category, we welcome all other core roles in a studio, such as game translators, accounting and finance roles, lawyers, senior managers, IT & backend engineers, Office Managers & Receptionists, HR specialists, DEI consultants, Accessibility consultants, Personal and Studio Assistants and any other role you can think of – if it’s not on the list elsewhere, this is the category for you.
Marketing & Community is for any roles that engage with customers and the audience in any way, this might include Campaign Managers, Community Managers, Directors & Assistants, Games Journalists, Games Publishers, Graphic Artists, Marketing Assistants & Managers, PR Managers or Performance Marketing Leads.
Production is for the folks who oversee the development process of video games, managing schedules, budgets, resources, and teams to ensure projects are completed successfully and on time, Roles in this category include Producers of all levels, Coordinators, Business Development Managers, Agile Delivery Managers and any type of Project Manager.
Programming and Technical is for all sorts of coding specialists and technical roles like Tech Artists, AI Programmers, DevOps, Engine Programmers, Fullstack Programmers, Gameplay Programmers, Generalist Programmers, Graphics Programmers, Network Programmers, Physics Programmers, VR or AR Programmers. If you are applying to be a Technical Artists, we recommend selecting Animation & VFX as a category instead, and Audio Programmers apply to Audio.
QA professionals ensure the quality and functionality of video games by identifying and reporting bugs, glitches, and issues. Roles in this category include QA Testers and Leads, QA Analysts, QA Engineers, Playtesters, Test Automation Specialists or Localisation QA.

If you’re eager to work in the games industry but have no idea which role or sector is right for you, we recommend you spend some time researching the many different roles available and find the one that is the best fit for your skills and interests.

You can find information about potential careers here.

We do appreciate that some people might be both passionate artists and accomplished developers at the same time and have a hard time picking. In that case, you can apply for up to two different categories, as long as you have a portfolio piece for both.

In general, we want you to show us your best and favourite piece of work — something you think best represents your skill and knowledge in the area you’d love to work in.

You can watch previous Elevate Session on YouTube to get expert insights on good portfolio design.

Here are some pointers:

Art, Animation & VFX: You can link to your portfolio or a single piece that best represents your current style and the type of work you love to do. The Entry Level Skills Hub has fantastic examples of portfolios for Environment, Concept, Character Artists or Animators for inspiration!
Audio: Link to a show-reel on YouTube any other portfolio page you might have!
Programming: You could link to a GitHub page (make sure there are plenty of comments) or a development blog of any kind where you show what you have been working on or learning. You can see some example portfolios on the Entry Level Skills Hub.
Design & Narrative: Your piece could be a Game Design Document, a concept for a Level Design, or a link to a prototype or game jam project, with notes of your involvement. If you are more on the narrative path, you could show off some sample writing, whether it’s a dialogue, some bark lines or a lovely piece of lore. The Entry Level Skills Hub has fantastic examples of portfolios for Technical Designers and Game Designers.
Marketing & Community: You can share a marketing or community campaign plan, copywriting samples, events you helped plan, or any other piece of work you’d love to share with us. This can be for an actual past client or a fictional customer. he Entry Level Skills Hub has fantastic examples of portfolios for Community Managers or Marketing Assistants.
Production: You could share either a blog post or case study on a project you have managed, a project plan, or maybe a document where you detail a problem you encountered while coordinating a program and how you resolved it. You can see some example production portfolios on the Entry Level Skills Hub.
QA: You could submit a well-structured bug report, a testing plan for a real or fictional product or any type of blog or writing on testing methods — whatever you feel best shows off your skills! You can see an example QA portfolio on the Entry Level Skills Hub.

If you don’t fall into any of the above we have the exciting wildcard category “General”. In the ideal case, you can work to a personal website or portfolio. Alternatively link to a blogpost, a sample of work or some other writing that relates to the role you want to work in! Here are some ideas:

HR? Send us a paragraph about your vision for a people team in a games studio!
DEI? What is your plan to make our industry more accessible?
Localisation? Share a piece of translated lore or a punny dialogue - maybe with some notes about your choices and challenges!
See yourself as a Senior Manager in the games space? What insights and perspectives can you bring to the table the industry is missing out on?
Analytics? What cool game stats have you collected that the world should know about?

We will be hosting a series of Discord Talks and Events on the Into Games Discord that you are welcome to attend.

Panels & Advice Sessions

📅 Tue, April 28 (5–5:45 PM) – 👩‍⚖️ Behind the Scenes & Q&A with IG50 Judges
Ask your questions and hear what our industry judges are looking for when rating the IG50 applications.
📅 Thu, May 14 (5–5:45 PM) – 🎮 IG50 Industry Panel
Hear from professionals across the games industry about what they look for in entry-level talent & hiring.
📅 Thu, May 19 (5–5:45 PM) – 🏆 Previous IG50 Winners Panel
Learn from people who’ve been in your shoes – we talk about why it’s worth applying even if you’re unsure & what the impact of winning had on them.

Co-Working Sessions

Want to apply for the IG50 or an industry job, but can’t find the time to focus on updating your Portfolio or CV? Join us in a quiet body-doubling session where we set individual goals, a timer and all work on our respective tasks while using the group chat for accountability.

📅 Mon, May 11 (12–1 PM) – Portfolio & CV Upgrade Body Doubling Session
📅 Mon, May 18 (12–1 PM) – Portfolio & CV Upgrade Body Doubling Session

Can’t make it?

Revisit recordings of previous Elevate Sessions on YouTube for insight from industry experts on how to improve your CV and portfolio for specific categories:

Game Design Session with Jonathon Wilson (Hanger 13) Watch it here (starting at 00:19)
Games Art Session with Louise Andrew (d3T) - Watch it here (starting at 01:17)
Technical / Programming Session with Nikky Armstrong (Flaming Fowl Studios) - Watch it here (starting at 02:18)
Community Management Session with James Gallagher (Keywords Studios) – Watch it here (starting at 03:17)

The IG50 2026 awards are sponsored by Ubisoft

Into Games Supporters & Partners

The IG50 2026 awards are sponsored by Ubisoft

The IG50 2026 awards are sponsored by Ubisoft

Into Games Supporters & Partners