SODERCAN and the University of Cantabria provide 200,000 euros in funding for the video game course

The Society for the Regional Development of Cantabria, S.A. (SODERCAN) and the University of Cantabria (UC) have signed a collaboration agreement to boost the video game industry in the community through training actions. The agreement, signed in Santander on October 9, 2026, is published in the Official Gazette of Cantabria no. 205, dated October 26, 2026, in the agreements section, with the official reference CVE-2026-8270. The resolution ordering its publication was signed by the CEO of SODERCAN, Ángel Pedraja Terán, on October 19, 2026, under article 163.3 of Law 5/2018, of November 22, on the Legal Regime of the Government and the Institutional Public Sector of Cantabria.

The agreement is framed within the “R&D Promotion Actions” line of the SODERCAN 2026 Action Plan and the Cantabria Digital Agenda 2024-2028, which includes a specific line to develop new digital skills. Both parties also invoke the Spain Digital 2025 program and the Spain, Audiovisual Hub of Europe plan, which place animation and video games among the strategic sectors to be reinforced.

A 29-credit course with the PlayStation Talents seal

The object of the agreement is the design and implementation of the PlayStation Talents Video Game Development and Industry Continuing Education Course, integrated into the Own Studies offer of the UC for the 2026-2027 academic year. Its minimum characteristics are:

• Minimum extension of 29 ECTS credits, with 24 mandatory and 5 for the final program project.
• Collaboration from active professionals in the industry and from the PlayStation Talents Academy.
• A minimum of 15 enrolled students; below this figure, the course is considered economically unviable.
• No requirement for a prior university degree as an access requirement.
• Public enrollment price of 50 euros.

The contents cover game and product design, market and business, production, programming, 2D and 3D art, and project development. The training must have a “marked professional character” and its delivery is subject to the approval of the program by the competent bodies of the UC before the start of the pre-registration period.

200,000 euros in three payments

SODERCAN will contribute up to 200,000 euros charged to budget item 12.06.461A.740.07 of the Cantabria Law 04/2026, of April 28, on the General Budgets of the Autonomous Community for 2026. The payment is staggered in three installments:

• 90,000 euros (45%) coinciding with the signing of the agreement.
• 70,000 euros (35%) in the fourth month of the course development.
• The remaining 40,000 euros (20%) after the justification of expenditure by the UC.

The justification must be submitted within a maximum period of three months from the completion of the activity and, in any case, before December 31, 2027. If 100% of the contribution is not justified, the amount will be reduced proportionally and the UC must reimburse the advances. The agreement will be in effect from its signing until March 31, 2028, and will have a joint monitoring commission of two members, one from each entity.

A 2.293 billion sector with only three Cantabrian companies

The agreement justifies the action with data from the Spanish Video Game Association (AEVI): Spain earned 2.293 billion euros in 2025 and had 529 companies in the subsector, of which only three were located in Cantabria. 80% of the companies are less than ten years old, and in 2023 the sector generated 8,562 full-time jobs requiring academic training, of which only 29 corresponded to the community.

The stated objectives are to generate job banks for young people, encourage entrepreneurship, strengthen regional business R&D, promote technologies such as virtual reality or artificial intelligence with possible application in other sectors, and promote technology-based companies. In the 2025-2026 period, the UC, in collaboration with SODERCAN, already promoted an equivalent training initiative, whose “good results” are cited as the reason for renewing the agreement.

Closing

The publication of the agreement confirms SODERCAN’s commitment to turning specialized training into a lever for economic diversification: with only 29 skilled jobs and three companies in the sector in Cantabria, the course seeks to retain young talent and attract development studios to a community with a consolidated ICT fabric. The dissemination of activities must include the logos of both entities and the Ministry of Industry, Employment, Innovation and Trade of the Government of Cantabria.

Source: Official Gazette of Cantabria, no. 205, of October 26, 2026, agreements section, pp. 54971-54988 (official reference: CVE-2026-8270).