Founded in 2010, the CGL, an institute of the Faculty of Cultural Studies of TH Köln, has been on an expansion course for the last few years and is one of the most renowned educational offerings in the field of game development in Germany. In the winter semester 2015/16, with an extended team of nine professors, including internationally recognized scientists and artists, the new location at Mülheim’s Schanzenstrasse was launched. Students and teachers in one Bachelor’s (BA “Digital Game”) and Master’s (MA “Game Development and Research”, MA “Digital Games”, and MA “3D Animation for Film & Games”) programs engage with each other in the creation of virtual worlds and procedural narratives. Additionally, the CGL even works on Film and TV formats, in cooperation with the International Filmschule Köln.

Each year, a maximum of 40 and around 50 new students are admitted to the Bachelor’s Program and Master’s Programs, respectively. In 2019, the extension expansion brought the total number of concurrent students to 250. During the last application phase, nearly 800 applicants were competing for the available slots. Being internationally oriented, with the students hail from 45 nations, the institute provides instruction in English.