Electric Square, the Brighton based studio behind Forza Street and the upcoming Assassins Creed VR title, has just confirmed the donation of over £5,000 worth of laptops to primary and secondary schools in their local area as part of its Developing Minds programme. Some of the laptops will also go to support students studying game design at college level.  

The equipment has been donated through an Into Games regional callout and will be distributed by Into Games and Tech Take-back, a Brighton based non-profit who repair and redistribute unwanted tech. The project is working with local schools to ensure the laptops go to those who need it most. 

Closure of schools and the move to a totally online curriculum has proved challenging for those even with the right technology at home. For families that can’t afford a laptop it has meant a worrying lack of provision and the potential for students to fall even further back with their studies; greatly impacting their future opportunities before they have even left school.

Between 1.14 million and 1.78 million children in the UK (9%) do not have home access to a laptop, desktop or tablet, and more than 880,000 children live in a home with only a mobile internet connection.

Guy DeRosa, Business Development Manager at Electric Square stated: “ 

“We are thrilled to be able to support this project! There is a whole generation of passionate creative talent out there and we want to make sure we’re doing all we can to provide the platform and guidance they need to become the industry superstars of tomorrow.”

Electric Square has donated these laptops as a part of their Developing Minds initiative, which is a new free project that features 25 volunteers who are looking to support future video game talent in breaking into the industry. The mission for Developing Minds is to make a meaningful contribution to increasing exceptional talent within the games industry in a diverse and inclusive way.

If your studio would like to support local schools in your area, Into Games and UKIE can help - get in touch at hello@intogames.org