BAFTA is putting more than £270,000 behind 112 emerging creatives, and game makers are among them.
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts charity announced the recipients of its 2026 scholarships and Prince William BAFTA Bursary on Monday morning.The grants cover film, games, and television in the UK and North America, according to the academy’s press announcement. From last year, the bursary grew by over 40% to 100 recipients, and the group now includes game artists, designers, and students
The Prince William BAFTA Bursary now supports 112 early-career creatives this year, a 40% increase on last year’s scholarship group. Each creative scholarship awardee is offered a grant, some of up to £2,000 each. These grants are designed to cover a variety of costs that may present obstacles for the emerging creatives, including training courses, equipment and software, relocation expenses, and even driving lessons. The 2026 scholarship cohort includes recipients from all across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Of the 2026 scholarship awardees, several bursary recipients work in games. The emerging game makers include: Bellayna Lopez, a 2D game artist and animator; Erin Curtis, a freelance 2D game artist; Jessica Murray, a game designer and writer; Serina Lopez, a 2D artist and game producer; and Symoné, a game designer.
Within the group of 5 BAFTA UK scholars, two are studying game development and design. Hamzah Ali is a Reuben Scholar studying for an MA in Games Art at Staffordshire University. Ava Rogerson holds a BAFTA Scholarship for a BA in Games Art and Design at Norwich University of the Arts. Each BAFTA scholar is awarded up to £12,000, set aside to cover tuition or living costs, plus mentoring and free access to BAFTA events. These scholarships are supported by the Reuben Foundation, as well as by BAFTA patrons.
Within past scholarship recipient groups, many have expressed that these grants have opened new avenues of opportunity for them. From a BAFTA survey of 2024 and 2025 bursary recipients, 98% said the grant opened the door for them to take up opportunities they couldn’t otherwise have. The survey covered a group of 51 former grant recipients. Additionally, 88.2% said it boosted their confidence in navigating the entertainment industry, and 94.1% felt better equipped to secure their next role.
Aiden, a 2025 scholarship recipient who studied game design, now works as an assistant producer at EA. Speaking at a breakfast for this year’s recipients, he explained how the bursary came at a time when he most needed reassurance about pursuing his career.
“I really needed that confidence boost, that self-assurance,” he said. “Having an organisation like BAFTA show that support and say you and your work are worth investing in is fantastic and helped so much when applying to jobs.”
BAFTA’s press release also covered the geographic spread of this year’s awardees, stating that about three-quarters of recipients live outside the city of London. BAFTA is framing this statistic as a sign that they are pushing to reach talent all across the UK, rather than concentrating their scholarships within metropolitan areas.
Hilary Rosen, deputy chair of BAFTA, explained that the programs aim to support talent the industries depend on. She expressed that without programs like this one, emerging creatives might otherwise be prevented from pursing entertainment-focused creative careers.
“BAFTA is passionate about the need to invest in fresh talent that the future of our industries relies on,” Rosen said. “The Prince William BAFTA Bursary and Scholarships programs do exactly this – giving life-changing grants to emerging creatives who otherwise might well have been locked out of a career in the screen arts.”
Across the Atlantic, BAFTA North America also released the names of seven scholarship awardees, who are set to receive up to $60,000 each. These scholars are currently enrolled at a wide list of American universities, including Columbia, Loyola Marymount, New York University, the School of Visual Arts and Stanford. The North American BAFTA scholarship fund is supported by various donors, including Fulbright, Mark Pigott and Tina Micklethwait. All seven of the American awardees are interested in pursuing careers in film, documentary or writing programs.
More information on the BAFTA scholarship programs is available at bafta.org/programmes.