Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) has further strengthened its commitments to nurturing the next generation of local STEM enthusiasts by becoming the lead sponsor for FXP Festival 2025.

Taking place on Monday 7 – Tuesday 8 July 2025, FXP Festival is an annual free video game narrative, design and coding competition for Cambridgeshire’s secondary school and sixth form students. It provides the opportunity for students to showcase and refine their technical and creative skills under the guidance of esteemed industry experts. Thanks to its sponsors, the event is completely free of charge to teams of students from Years 9 – 13 from across the county.

The Festival has been running for nine years and was established to provide an entry point for students from all backgrounds to gain a greater understanding of opportunities that exist within STEM related industries. Using game development as a means to engage students, it allows participants with passions in storytelling, coding, or designing to explore the range of career opportunities that exist within creative industries. Participants are challenged to collectively pool their skills with their team mates to create the best game they can, and the games are then judged by industry experts, based on three categories:

• Concept: designing and mapping out the creative concept of an original video game.
• Development: building and programming of an original video game.
• Narrative developing the plot and storylines for an original video game.

Professor Catherine Lee, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Faculty of Arts Humanities Education and Social Sciences at ARU, said: “We are proud to support the FXP Festival again this year and look forward to seeing the winning designs. As a major provider of computer games degrees in the region, this festival aligns with our commitment to developing future talent in the rapidly growing games industry.”

Alison Taylor, FXP Festival Co-Founder and Trustee, and CEO of Conscious Communications, a founding partner of the festival, said: “On behalf of everyone at FXP Festival, I’d like to say a huge thank you to ARU for generously sponsoring this year’s event. It is so important to provide opportunities for all students, regardless of their backgrounds, to participate in events that bridge the gap between classroom learning and the workplace while showcasing the wealth of opportunities that are available in our city. Cambridge is home to some of the world’s most innovative and fastest growing STEM businesses, and our goal is for FXP Festival to show local students that, with proper guidance and a clear pathway, they possess the skills and talent required to achieve successful careers within the field.”

FXP Festival 2025 has a maximum capacity of 55 teams, which are available on a first come first serve basis.