Escape Studios ranked world leader for Production Excellence in Immersive Media by The Rookies

Following the success of last year’s Rookies ranking, Escape Studios remains ahead of the game, taking the lead once again as first in the world for Production Excellence in Immersive Media.  

The Production Excellence in Immersive Media category recognises “schools for outstanding dedication to teaching the art of game development for augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and virtual reality (VR) platforms. This recognition is especially evident in the extraordinary results achieved by their students in the creation of captivating and innovative immersive media games. These schools transcend traditional game development education by immersing students in an environment that mirrors a professional game development studio, with a particular focus on the unique challenges and opportunities of AR, MR, and VR game development.”  

Dean/Director of Interactive and Real Time Simon Fenton says: “At Escape Studios, VR is one of our core passions. Every year, our third-year students undertake an intensive, collaborative project that covers all aspects of game production. This challenging experience requires a blend of technical and artistic expertise, resulting in stunning visuals and high-level optimisation. We’re proud that our students’ work has been recognised by the industry panel at The Rookies as the best in the world. Our graduates have gone on to work at leading VR developers like Framestore, nDreams and XR Games, as well as in real-time VR industries such as architecture and other immersive media fields.” 

Escape Studios also climbed the rankings from 10^th to 4^th for top UK Creative Schools. Other 2024 Rookies Rankings include: 

• Production Excellence in Immersive Media – 1^st in the world 

• Game Design & Development – 1^st in the UK, 21^st in the world 

• Production Excellence for Mobile Games –1^st in the UK, 3^rd in the world 

• Visual Effects – 2^nd in the UK, 15^th in the world 

Dr Ian Palmer, Principal of Escape Studios, comments: “We are proud to see our students’ work consistently recognised as some of the best in the world. Every year we encourage both tutors and students to set ambitious goals, constantly raising the bar, because these industries never stand still. This brings fresh challenges requiring dedication and commitment to surpass previous achievements, challenge limits, and foster creativity. Our students’ remarkable accomplishments, particularly in immersive media where we are world-leading, highlight our continued dedication to excellence and innovation.”  

The Rookies have been ranking creative media and entertainment schools since 2009 with the goal of helping aspiring artists find trusted schools to help them forge successful careers in creative fields. This year, over 6,800 students from 120+ countries competed in the Rookies Awards, with an esteemed panel of 180 industry pros completing 67,000 reviews. The Rookies don't rely on school size or internal grading - their rankings are based on student performance and industry readiness.