“How can I start out in the games industry?” is a much-asked question - with no final answer, as there’s a host of ways to break into the many different career paths it offers. But at least 16 school students from Hamburg might have just taken the first step: They participated in the three-week long Games Internship program in Hamburg, jointly organized by the Initiative Creative Gaming, the studios InnoGames, Deep Silver FISHLABS, and Tivola Games, as well as the HAW University of Applied Sciences and Gamecity Hamburg.

During the past three weeks, the students had the opportunity to visit the three participating studios as well as the HAW Hamburg. During their first week at Fishlabs, they received insights into the daily work of the Quality Assurance department and worked on assignments in the field. They also got an intro into the work of the 3D Animators and donned some Motion Capture equipment. Last but not least, the students learned more about the audio design needed for game development. Gamecity also stopped by to show the interns different vocational training programs and universities they could attend to get their career in the industry started after finishing school.

 

The interns started their second week at InnoGames, where they got a tour of the studio and also a lesson in game design. In the following days, they learned more about project management, while also working on practical tasks and their own game projects. At the end of the week, the students additionally visited Tivola, the third studio supporting this internship. After the studio tour, they received insights into art and programming at the studio.  

In the third week of the internship, the 16 students also met at the HAW Hamburg where they learned more about the options to get a degree in the field of games and had the opportunity to test their skills a bit more. Overall they worked a lot on their game projects which they presented on the last day of the internship at InnoGames. A group of people from the participating studios came together there on Friday to see what the interns had worked on during the past three weeks and were once again deeply impressed by the creativity and ingenuity of the young game developers. We're very much hoping that the students enjoyed their time in Hamburg's game industry and are considering returning after graduating from school. In the meantime, applications for the two internships in 2024 are already open, find more info below. 

Applications for Participation in the School Internship Games 2024 

Hamburg students of the 9th grade of all school types are invited to apply for participation in the School Internship Games from now until September 29 or November 10. Applications can be sent by email with the subject „Bewerbung Januar 2024” oder “Bewerbung Sommer 2024“ to hamburg@schulpraktikum-games.de. In addition to a cover letter and a resume as a PDF file, the following question should be answered: "In the development of which game title would you have liked to be involved and which task would you have taken on?" The application may also be submitted as a video with a maximum length of 45 seconds. The internship is recognized by schools as the company internship provided for in the curriculum. All info can also be found here.

School Internship Games: Joint Project of the Hamburg Games Industry 

The "Internship Games" program is a unique offer from Hamburg and was already conducted four times at this point. It is jointly organized by players from the games industry, educators, and the university sector and is a good example of a strong collaboration to jointly bring the next generation of developers for the game's stronghold Hamburg on the way. Together, the players have been creating a varied and extensive range of supervision and internship opportunities with insights from more than one games company since 2021.   

Further information events by Gamecity Hamburg

In addition to the joint school internship in games, the Gamecity Hamburg initiative, which is supported by the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, offers other opportunities to introduce students to the games industry as a career option. In the "Gamecity@School" program, students meet experts from the games industry for two school hours, who share insights and experiences from their everyday working lives. Schools and teachers interested in hosting a "Gamecity@School" event can contact Helen Krüger, Project Manager at Gamecity Hamburg, via e-mail: