Mastered secures funding to support senior talent at UK games studios

Career accelerator firm Mastered has secured new county council funding contracts to support and upskill senior UK games talent.

The contracts are designed to “enable studios to invest in their people”, with up to 90% of training costs covered by local authorities.

Funding will be available to studios located in Guildford and Brighton, as well as other regions across the country including Liverpool, West and South Yorkshire, the North East, Kent, Oxfordshire, Essex, Hampshire, and Wiltshire.

Mastered’s latest round of contracts will enable the firm to provide 64 hours of mentoring, training, or coaching delivered over 16 weeks.

The programme will include mentoring from technical directors and production leaders, interactive workshops, one-to-one guidance, and a programme manager to handle logistics.

Over the past two years, Mastered has supported over 30 studios including D3T, Sumo, Avalanche, and Radical Forge.

“Mastered are exceptional collaborators who genuinely understand the games industry’s challenges,” said Radical Forge COO Alison Lacy.

“They designed bootcamps that perfectly met our needs and improved both individual and team performance.

“The depth and breadth of expertise they bring with their mentors sets them apart, as the games industry has always struggled to find up-to-date, relevant external training. Crucially, unlocking bootcamp funding and simplifying the process, as well as their flexible approach, enabled us to upskill many more developers than we thought possible.”

Mastered provides programmes designed for senior studio professionals, covering skills such as adopting or upgrading pipelines and tools, leadership development, and “strategic training to improve production, motivation, and team management.”

“We know studios are under pressure to deliver ambitious projects while navigating new technologies and production challenges,” said Mastered CEO Perri Lewis.

“This funding ensures senior leaders, engineers, and creative specialists can access world-class training without the usual cost barriers, keeping the UK at the forefront of games innovation.”

UKIE CEO Nick Poole added: “The UK video games industry is built on the creativity and expertise of its people. At a time when studios are under pressure and talent retention is more important than ever, this kind of investment in senior skills is precisely what we need to keep the sector resilient and globally competitive.

“Through UKIE’s new Skills Network, we are working with local government and partners across both industry and education to make sure initiatives like those offered by Mastered connect into a wider strategy for skills, so that UK studios continue to produce world-class games and create opportunities across the country.”

Studios interested in obtaining funding can apply via this online form.

The deadline for applications is November 2025, and funding will be allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Developers located in Brighton can access free business support and training.