South African studios are making games the world plays, from Shroom and Gloom to Feather’s Edge. Here’s where to start in 2027. Pick the route that fits you.
Stop 01
Finishing matric? Go for the scholarship
Open Window will cover half of 2027 tuition for up to four new students, one per degree stream. Game design and animation is one of them.
Image: Open Window
- Course
- BA in Game Design and Animation (NQF 7)
- Where
- Centurion, Johannesburg or Stellenbosch, with alternating campus and online weeks
- The prize
- 50% of 2027 tuition, renewable for years two and three
- The brief
- A four-frame visual story: “A Story of What Could Be…”
- Format
- Any medium, videos up to 30 seconds, plus a 200-word rationale and your process work
- Closes
- 30 December 2026. Winners named by early February 2027
Don’t miss this: only 2025 and 2026 matrics who already hold an Open Window acceptance letter for February 2027 can enter. Apply first, then enter.
Stop 02
Want something shorter? Try a one-year certificate
Eduvos’ Higher Certificate in Information Systems (Game Design and Development) covers design, programming, art, audio and game project management.
Image: Eduvos
- Length
- As little as one year, full time
- In class
- Cape Town only: Mowbray and TygerValley
- Online
- From anywhere, full time or part time
- Starts
- 15 February 2027 (online part time from 17 February)
- Cost
- From R67,109 upfront on the course page. Ask for a 2027 quote
- Entry
- Matric with at least a Higher Certificate pass
Good to know: online students link to one of 12 Eduvos campuses for student services, but classes aren’t held there. The course is CHE accredited and SAQA registered, and Eduvos is hosting a Wings Cup qualifier this month.
Stop 03
In KwaZulu-Natal? Start with a short course in Durban
Keyline, a design school on Florida Road in Durban, runs a beginner game design course in Unity. You don’t need any coding experience, and it takes seven afternoons.
Image: Keyline
- Course
- Game Design Fundamentals
- Length
- 7 afternoons, 13:00 to 16:00
- You’ll use
- Unity, to build 2D and 3D games from idea to release
- Where
- Keyline Durban, Florida Road. A live online option is also listed
- Starts
- 10 November or 1 December 2026
- Cost
- R8,500, with payment plans
Want a full year? Keyline’s 1 Year Digital Communication Design starts on 8 February 2027. Game design, 3D modelling and animation, and VR are three of its 15 modules, so think of it as a design year with game content rather than a game development qualification. It costs R82,500 on campus or R68,800 online, with deposit plans.
Good to know: these are Keyline certificates, not degrees or higher certificates. The full year adds an Adobe certification. Keyline says it is MICT SETA accredited and an Adobe Training Centre.
Stop 04
Want to see it before you choose? Book an open day
SAE Institute teaches games in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria and online, with a Higher Certificate and a BA in Game Design and Production.
- Next open day
- Saturday 21 November 2026
- Sessions
- 09:30 or 10:30. Arrive 15 minutes early
- What happens
- Meet lecturers, tour the campus, enrol on the day
- Booking
- Through SAE’s open day page
Ask at any open day: the full cost including equipment, the computer you’ll need, where graduates work now, and whether students show their games to the industry.
Stop 05
Prefer a university degree? Plan your portfolio
Wits’ four-year BA Digital Arts includes Game Design courses in third and fourth year. Selection looks at your creative work as well as your marks.
Student work. Image: Wits University
- Length
- Four years, full time
- Marks
- APS 36 or more (30 to 35 may be wait-listed), English at level 5
- You must also submit
- Questionnaire, one-page CV, transcript, a portfolio of 10 or more visual and written pieces, and a two-page essay
- 2027 status
- Applications closed 30 September 2026. Portfolios due 31 October 2026
Missed 2027? Start a portfolio for 2028 now. Sketches, digital renders, short stories and scripts all count.
Stop 06
Want studio experience? Ask for a job shadow
Cape Town studio Sea Monster makes games for learning and marketing, for clients such as Nedbank and the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation.
- Open jobs
- None right now
- On offer
- Internships and job shadows, when there’s room
- Who for
- High school learners (job shadows) and graduates (internships)
- How
- The form on its careers page
Stand out: it’s a small studio with limited places, so show something you’ve made, even a tiny jam game.
Bonus round
Still at school? Start with a game jam
Every studio starts somewhere. Team Lazerbeam, the South African studio behind Shroom and Gloom, first teamed up to make a game for a jam in 2014.
Free ways in
- Global Game Jam 2027: 25 to 31 January 2027. Sites register from 1 November, jammers from 1 December.
- Girls in game dev: in August, Origin Point Games ran a workshop and jam for Grade 8 to 12 IT learners at St Andrew’s School for Girls, with the French Institute of South Africa.
- Free tools: Godot is a free, open-source game engine. A laptop is enough to start.
- Community: the ZAELL Foundation runs community esports and digital skills programmes in the Eastern Cape.
Key dates at a glance
- 31 October 2026: Wits Digital Arts portfolios due (2027 applicants)
- 1 November 2026: Global Game Jam site registration opens
- 10 November 2026: Keyline Game Design Fundamentals starts in Durban
- 21 November 2026: SAE open day
- 1 December 2026: Global Game Jam jammer registration opens
- 1 December 2026: Keyline Game Design Fundamentals, second intake
- 30 December 2026: Open Window scholarship entries close
- 25 to 31 January 2027: Global Game Jam
- 8 February 2027: Keyline full-year design course starts
- 15 February 2027: Eduvos full-time intakes start
No school, studio or organisation paid to appear in this guide. Fees and dates can change, so always confirm with the institution before you apply or pay.
Ready to make your first move?
The scholarship is the one with a clock on it. Get your Open Window application in, then enter before 30 December.
Sources: Open Window Scholarship Competition 2026, Open Window 2027 guide, Eduvos programme page, Eduvos 2027 fee schedule, SAE open days, SAE campuses, Wits course finder, Wits Digital Arts requirements, Sea Monster careers, French Institute of South Africa, Global Game Jam, ZAELL Foundation, Keyline Game Design Fundamentals, Keyline 1 Year Digital Communication Design. Details checked on 12 October 2026, Keyline details on 25 October 2026.
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