59 Graduate from 6th Class of Game Talent Training Center...Curriculum Overhauled for the AI Era

19 Graduates of the 6th Class Secure Early Employment
Recruitment of New Students Until March 10
Curriculum Overhauled with Expanded AI-Based Courses

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that, together with the Korea Creative Content Agency, it will hold the 6th graduation ceremony on the afternoon of February 27 at the first campus of the Game Talent Training Center in Pangyo, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

The graduates are 59 professionals in total who have completed a two-year curriculum in three departments: game design, art, and programming. Among them, 19 students achieved early employment before graduation at major Korean game companies such as Nexon, Netmarble Neo, Lionheart Studio, and Pearl Abyss. Since its opening in 2019, the Game Talent Training Center has produced a total of 322 professionals, and the cumulative employment and start-up rate for the first five classes has reached 74%.

At the graduation ceremony, the top graduate with the best academic performance will receive the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award, and outstanding graduates will receive the President of the Korea Creative Content Agency Award. There will also be special awards presented by related organizations and major companies, including the Korea Association of Game Industry, NCSoft, and Nexon Korea.

The Game Talent Training Center will recruit new students for its 8th class until noon on March 10 next month. Anyone born on or before March 31, 2008, who has passion for game development and possesses basic knowledge in the field, is eligible to apply. New students selected through document screening and in-person evaluation will receive full support for tuition, and excellent trainees will be offered benefits such as opportunities to visit overseas game shows.

In addition, starting with the 8th class entering this year, a new curriculum will be applied. The Game Talent Training Center stated that it has significantly overhauled the curriculum to proactively respond to rapid industrial changes, such as artificial intelligence (AI) technology being introduced across the entire game development process. Accordingly, it will shift from the existing two-year program to a nine-month intensive training system, and ensure that courses utilizing AI account for at least 20% of all subjects.

Looking at the changes by department, the game design department will offer core courses in game planning along with training to strengthen practical capabilities for actively handling AI technologies. The art department will comprehensively cover AI-based environment creation technologies and conduct practice-oriented convergence education that can be applied throughout the entire process from game design to testing and operation. The programming department will run a practice-focused curriculum centered on programming languages (C/C++), systems, engines, and the use of AI tools.

An official from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said, "The game industry is the sector where technological innovation occurs most rapidly, so nurturing talent suited to the AI era is key to national competitiveness," adding, "We will spare no policy support so that the Game Talent Training Center can become a cradle for world-class game developers beyond the Republic of Korea."