Play On: UAlbany Opens Up New Hub for Game Design Students

By Jackson Woolley, Class of '27

ALBANY, N.Y. (Sept. 28, 2026) — Many University at Albany students love games. Some love them so much that they're making them.

UAlbany's College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity (CEHC) has just unveiled its new Game Hub, open from 2-7 p.m., Tuesday to Friday.

The Game Hub is a space where students studying game design can use resources provided by the College to research games and study their mechanics, collaborate, and play.

"The design of this space, the Game Hub, was about creating a shared environment. Even when people are playing and studying completely different games, we're all still in the same room together," said Jason Corace, associate professor in CEHC's Information Sciences and Technology Department and director of UAlbany's Game Center. "It naturally opens up conversations and discussion."

Training Future Game Industry Leaders

CEHC offers a Bachelor of Science in Game Design and Development and a Master of Science in Strategic Game Design and Applied Development — the first graduate program focused on gaming in the SUNY system.

Both programs are offered through the Department of Information Sciences & Technology and launched in Fall 2025. 

Student enrollment in the major has grown by more than 150 percent over the last year.

The new programs have also generated interest from local game design companies, including Wolfjaw Studios, a game development studio based in Troy, which has established a $35,000 endowed scholarship for students in the program.

The goal of the Game Hub is to bring together students from all different backgrounds, with a common interest in studying games and understanding what makes them work.

"We want to have our students see the connections between all different kinds of play and then hopefully have that influence how they think about games," Corace said.

More Than Just Video Games

While there is a focus on digital gaming, UAlbany's game design programs explore other types of play too, like card and board games.

The Game Hub has a large collection of video games, board games and card games available for students to use and observe, fueling the creative fires.

"When a lot of people think of games, they immediately go to video games," Corace said. "But if you broaden it out and think about play — cards, board games, the way we play, where there's a playful instinct — you see it running through so much of everyday life."

Claire Legato, a game development professional with experience in all parts of the game-making process, is the new manager of the Game Hub. She says it is important that game design majors see that there are also applications for gaming beyond entertainment.

"There are a lot of people working in other fields who could benefit from having a simulation of what they do," said Claire Legato, CEHC's Game Studio Manager. "It's easy to think of games as just entertainment, but there's a whole field built around designing games for education, training and health, using play to teach concepts that are hard to grasp any other way."

The Game Center will also be welcoming other new spaces soon, including the Game Studio (a collaborative space on ETEC's ground level with team areas, an audio studio, and room for public events and workshops), a new computer lab and classroom, and a second audio studio for the program's game audio concentration.

Photos by Hannah Pope, Class of '27