Activision Blizzard, the well-known developer behind World Of Warcraft and the Overwatch video games, has announced a new pathway for engineering roles within the company’s infrastructure. Aptly named “Level Up U”, the “immersive program” is designed to help non-gaming industry talent develop skills needed to become full-time game developers.

Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, said this groundbreaking program is the first of its kind and is just the beginning of many programs that will help develop talent across different aspects of game development, including engineering art direction and animation.

“Talent and diversity have always been critical to our success. The rapid growth of the industry, including our franchises, has made it clear that we need to find new ways to attract and grow talent,” Kotick said in a statement. “This is the first of many Level Up U programs, and our plan is to expand to other skill areas such as art and animation. I’m incredibly excited about the potential of Level Up U.”

The initial class will include more than 100 students from various industries, including healthcare, finance and aerospace.

Julie Hodges, Chief People Officer of Activision Blizzard, explained that students participating in the 12-week Level Up U program were selected through an application process.

“We looked at a broader set of skills, experiences, and capabilities that we believe matter most to an employee’s success at Activision Blizzard and revisited where those skills exist in the market,” Hodges said. “We hope this will lead to greater talent mobility both within Activision Blizzard and in the games industry.”

The program will be led Tad Leckman, Dean of Level Up U, who will be utilizing more than 20 years of experience, leading projects at Industrial Light and Magic, Blizzard Entertainment, Riot Games and Lucasfilm Animation.

Last year, Blizzard Activision was acquired by software pioneer Microsoft for $68 billion. The acquisition will be completed in June 2023.

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