UCF Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy

10/15/2026

Big news for FIEA! 🏆 UCF Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy has been awarded a $3,000 Ignite Grant through the 2026 Orlando Tech Grants program to support the Fourth Annual FIEA Collegiate Game Jam. Selected by an independent panel of community judges, FIEA earned the highest Ignite score! Eight awards were distributed, funded by the City of Orlando - Government and administered by Orlando Economic Partnership.

The judges recognized the Game Jam’s proven track record, strong industry support, university reach, and ability to bring students and game-development professionals together at Creative Village Orlando in Downtown Orlando. This award highlights the power of collaboration in growing Central Florida’s creative and tech communities.

“The City of Orlando and Orlando Economic Partnership have been wonderful supporters of FIEA, UCF Downtown and Creative Village,” said FIEA Executive Director Benjamin Noel. “The Ignite Grant is another instance where they continue to help us extend our region’s creative economies.” Noel accepted the award from Sheena Fowler, Senior Vice President of Innovation & Economic Development at OEP, and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer.

Thank you to the City of Orlando and OEP for investing in Orlando’s innovation ecosystem and supporting the next generation of game developers! 🎮🚀

Read more: https://news.orlando.org/blog/city-of-orlando-and-orlando-economic-partnership-announce-2026-orlando-tech-grant-recipients/

10/13/2026

With graduation just around the corner for Cohort 22, we're taking a moment to look back at the people, experiences, and adventures that made the summer semester one to remember. 🖤💛 Students pour countless hours into their capstone games and portfolios while at FIEA. Scheduling a few breaks away from keyboards to have fun, develop their professional network, and build community, lights sparks along their journey.

🍨 Scoop! There It Is! Ice Cream Social
🎳 Great Balls of FIEA Alumni/Student Bowling
🏈 EA/FIEA Day
👾 Final Capstone Game Presentations
🧝‍♀️ FIEA Prom featuring a special performance by Ron Weaver

10/09/2026

What game inspired you to come to FIEA?

We brought our community together at this summer’s almost annual (we’re working on it) FIEA alumni bowling and networking event, 🎳🔥 Great Balls of FIEA 🔥🎳 We asked students and alumni to share the games that fueled their passion for game development, and led them to pursue a degree in interactive entertainment at UCF.

09/12/2026

It's National Video Games Day! And what better way to celebrate than opening registration for our fourth annual FIEA Collegiate Game Jam at Creative Village?!

📆 January 15-17, 2027 (MLK, Jr. Day Weekend)
📍 UCF Downtown at Creative Village

Get a four-person team together and compete to build the best video game in less than 48 hours. Industry professional and renowned faculty from around the state will playtest your game and select the top three games. First-place winners will receive a Nintendo Switch 2!

Registration and full details: https://fiea.ucf.edu/gamejam2027/

09/03/2026

08/25/2026

FIEA’s Cohort 23 is ready to press play 👉 🎮!

We are SO excited for 67 new programmers, artists, and producers to begin their adventure 👾 in our Interactive Entertainment M.S. program this fall.

Over the course of our 16-month program, Cohort 23 will build real games, develop their portfolio, and gain hands-on experience for careers in the video game, film, simulation and other technology industries.

We can’t wait to see where their creativity, curiosity and teamwork take them. Join us in welcoming Cohort 23 on board! 🎉 🎉

Read more:

A new group of aspiring game developers is ready to get started! The Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA) at the University of Central Florida is excited to welcome 67 new programmers, artists and producers to its graduate-level Interactive Entertainment M.S. program this fall. These stu...

07/31/2026

Today's the day! ⚔️🎮 After more than two semesters of designing, developing, testing, and refining, Cohort 22 is ready to present five original capstone games as a major step toward earning a Master of Science in Interactive Entertainment.

Capstone gives our students the opportunity to experience the complete game development pipeline, from preproduction to beta, preparing them for careers in the industry.

Watch the presentations live on FIEA's YouTube channel starting at 12 p.m. and help us celebrate the next generation of game developers! ✨

Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA), the University of...

07/30/2026

Just ☝️ more day to go until our Cohort 22 students give their final capstone game update! The fifth and final team to present tomorrow will be Stained Glass Studios taking you inside Cathedus. Sound on for this one 🔊

🩸 Splinter by Stained Glass Studios

Enter Cathedrus. Eradicate the Family of Ash. Extinguish the Hearth. Embark on a gothic-style, hack ‘n’ slash pilgrimage to reach the peak of a grotesque, architecture-ridden colossal beast.

Final capstone game presentations will be livestreamed on YouTube this Friday at 12 p.m. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afHdWMmxYr8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpv9FcpEZyQ

Enter Cathedrus. Eradicate the Family of Ash. Extinguish the Hearth...

07/29/2026

We’re just a few days away from Cohort 22’s final capstone game presentations! Our fourth team to present on Friday has created a multiplayer Norse arena-brawler. Luckily, finding enough people to test this 4-on-4 in our largest cohort enrolled at FIEA has been easier than expected.

△ Mythbound by Skaldforge

Mythbound is a competitive multiplayer PvP arena-brawler in a Norse world. Contestants known as “the bound” have given their souls to Helheim for a chance to compete for glory. Thrust into the arenas of Himinbjorg, Midgard, and Helheim, the bound use a combination of parkour, brutal melee combat, and godly abilities to brawl against one another. The Relic, a gift bestowed upon by Odin, serves as the main objective in the premiere 4 vs 4 game mode, Relic Rush.

Final capstone game presentations will be livestreamed on YouTube this Friday at 12 p.m. https://www.youtube.com/

https://youtu.be/6uC7Pw37cyE

Mythbound is a competitive multiplayer PvP arena-brawler in a Norse...

07/28/2026

The countdown continues! 🎉 It's officially Capstone Week for Cohort 22. After months of hard work, our five teams are preparing to showcase their final capstone games and take a huge step toward earning their Master of Science in Interactive Entertainment. Get a first look at Friday's third game to be presented, Regradable.

🌱 Regradable by Sunpress Games

In Regradable, you play as ELI, a discarded worker robot revived by the last Tree of Life. This action-platformer follows ELI’s journey through a city overrun by technology as he carries the tree’s final seed, determined to restore nature to a world that has forgotten it. Swing through the city, battle dangerous enemies, and protect the seedling as you fight to bring life back to a dying world.

Watch the final capstone game presentations live on our YouTube channel this Friday at 12 p.m. https://www.youtube.com/

https://youtu.be/ZQcod4uq2XI

In Regradable, you play as ELI, a discarded worker robot revived by...