It takes a lot of work to bring a game to your screen, and the work isn’t confined to game development. Get involved in all the behind-the-scenes action—the business development, communications, analytics, and so much more—that can ultimately make or break a game’s success.
If you love video games and want to focus on promotion and marketing within the growing game industry, Game Business and Publishing is the major for you. You’ll gain the business, communication, and collaboration skills you need, all within the context of the game industry and how it functions in the real world. You’ll focus your degree with one of our three concentrations—Business Strategy, Content & Community, or Research & Analytics to further tailor your industry expertise in the areas that interest you most.
You’ll get the full picture of the game market and process by working in the Champlain College Game Studio, where students in each game major collaborate in a complete ecosystem that simulates the industry. Your experience here sets you up to transition seamlessly into your career.
Qualities of a Game Business & Publishing Major:
Amanda CrispelProgram Contact(802) 865-5469crispel@champlain.edu
We’ll send you Game Studio info plus a game art poster designed by our students when you fill out this form!
Thank you. We will be sending you your poster soon.
Students will discover and develop the entrepreneurial mindset that is critical to succeed in today’s dynamic business environment so that they will be able to imagine, create, identify, assess, and act on business opportunities in a variety of contexts and organizations. Through real-world examples and hand-ons activities, students will embrace an entrepreneurial and strength-based mindsets that will facilitate their understanding of the major functions of business and the relationships between them, as well as the importance of self-inquiry and teamwork.
Game History is an integrated, cross-disciplinary hands-on history class where students actively research the evolution and history of games through the lenses of design, art, technology, business, society and culture. Working with resources from the Game History Teaching Collection, and from the perspective of their discipline as a game developer, students will play, study and research historical to contemporary games. In this way, students will discover the nexus of relationships driving game development.
In the competitive and expanding game industry, it isn’t enough just to make a great game – you need to have a plan on how to bring it to your players. In this course students will explore the development of an interactive product from the development of a concept to product launch and beyond. Emphasis will be placed on the intersection of business and publishing with product development including market research, strategic partnerships, go to market plans, monetization, and more.
An individually supervised experience in a selected profit or nonprofit organization. Provides opportunity for career exploration, and to observe and develop technical, interpersonal and conceptual skills. Specific experiences are developed for each workplace in conjunction with a site supervisor. In addition to working a minimum of 8 to 10 hours per week students will discuss and evaluate their experiences. Note: Internships must be secured prior to the start of the course.
This course covers the basic microeconomic theories within a business context as they apply to markets, analysis of cost, producer and consumer behaviors, industrial organization, strategic thinking, and pricing strategies. These economic concepts will be continually applied to current events, policy issues, and business situations.
The college capstone in Game Development is an opportunity for students in the Game Studio to pursue a self-directed experience in a collaborative Game Development environment that intentionally integrates their liberal learning in the Core curriculum with their degree learning. Students spend the semester working in teams conceptualizing and building a proof of concept that they may choose to pitch to a faculty panel for selection for production in the second semester.
In EGD 420, Game Studio III, seniors successful in pitching their games during the college capstone in the Fall semester continue into full production. Forming large production teams, games are taken to the perfect polished state of gold master, ready for publication. Academic emphasis for the class is focused on working successfully in a professional studio environment, preparing for entrance into the job market, and taking personal craft to the next level.
From the store shelf to gaming conventions, social media to your favorite Esports franchise, games are a massive industry. According to Gaming as a Cultural Force Just Stepped to the Forefront of Entertainment (by Paul Traeger, Svp, Group Director Comms Strategy, Havas Media) the game industry rakes in more than $150 billion per year in revenue, and the game market is “bigger than the NFL, NBA, MLB, and the NHL combined.” (How Much is the Gaming Industry Worth in 2021? by Teodora Dobrilova, TechJury). The Game Business & Publishing major will give you the skills to find your place in this growing arena of business. Careers in Game Business and Publishing include:
The first graduating class for this major will be 2026.
Business strategy is an integral part of any organization’s success—especially one in the game industry. Hit games are powered by market insights, collaborative partnerships, and decisive leadership.This concentration focuses on strategic thinking and proficiency in business fundamentals. Flex your creative management muscles and explore fields such as domestic and global business strategy, business finance, and game marketing.This concentration will set you up well for a wide variety of roles, such as Brand Manager, Product Manager, or Esports Partnership Manager.
Now more than ever, games are something that bring us together—whether it is a shared passion for a particular game, a digital community within a game, or using a game to connect with friends. Maintaining and promoting these communities is a crucial part of the gaming world.By pursuing this concentration, you’ll harness knowledge from communication, broadcasting, public relations, and marketing courses to establish a solid skill-set in messaging and content promotion. Upon graduation, you’ll be prepared to engage with the gaming community in roles like Esports Content Producer, Branded Content Coordinator, or Community Manager.
Recent changes in the game industry have made data interpretation and implementation more important than ever before. While pursuing this concentration, you will dive into the world of user research testing and how it is used to not only improve individual games themselves, but also advance the company as a whole. Upon graduating with a degree in Game Business & Publishing and a concentration in Research & Analytics, you’ll be equipped with the necessary skills to pursue positions such as User Experience Analyst, Brand Insights Associate, or Product Analyst—to name just a few.
“What I love most about working with Champlain students is that they are prepared to hit the ground running when it comes to developing games. Any student coming out of their program has the tools to make an immediate positive impact to a game development studio”
For this major, we are looking for students with a head for business and an entrepreneurial mindset. Champlain’s Game Business & Publishing degree program is perfect for students who love being immersed in games and enjoy working with people. You’ll collaborate with peers, intern with innovative companies, and gain valuable expertise in best practices for business.
We look for strong writing and communication skills and a balanced academic background from applicants. There is no portfolio requirement for this major.
Preparation
Academic preparation includes successful completion of a college preparatory curriculum, including:
Applying
If one of the elements of your academic profile is not as strong as your overall application we recommend a Personal Interview to demonstrate the personal qualities we look for in admitted students. We are seeking individuals who are highly motivated to achieve their professional and personal goals.
You can apply to Champlain College using the Common Application or the Champlain College Application. Both are free. Regardless of which you choose, all applications are considered equally.
The Game Studio at Champlain College is the premier program for students looking to get a professional game development experience from day one of their education. Take major-specific classes and learn the skills and techniques that go into building your favorite games. Work as a team with other game students and construct fully functional games that you can download, play, and publish. By graduation, you’ll be prepared to succeed in a rewarding career in game development. At the Game Studio, we don’t simulate what game development could look like—we put you in the middle of the real game studio experience.
We’ll send you Game Studio info plus a game art poster designed by our students when you fill out this form.
Thank you for your submission!
