The University of Malta's Institute of Digital Games has placed fifth globally in a widely followed ranking of institutions active in technical games research, finishing ahead of both Google and New York University in the latest edition of the list, compiled by American scientist Professor Mark J. Nelson and updated in August 2026.

The ranking measures institutional publication output over the preceding ten years across conferences and journals dedicated to the technical side of games research, covering areas including artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, and graphics optimisation. Northeastern University claimed the top spot this year, displacing the University of California Santa Cruz, while the University of Malta held fifth place for the second consecutive year, retaining its position as the leading institution in continental Europe.

The development was first reported by Um. The result is particularly striking given the comparatively small team behind it, according to the University of Malta's Newspoint. Professors Antonios Liapis and Georgios N. Yannakakis, Dr Ahmed Khalifa, and doctoral student Roberto Gallotta were among the primary contributors to this year's tally. The institute first appeared in the ranking in 2018, entering at ninth place, and has remained inside the top ten every year since.

The achievement is underpinned by a broad network of international collaborations. Professor Julian Togelius of New York University, itself a ranked institution in the same table, regularly co-authors work with Malta-based academics. Professor Casper Harteveld of first-placed Northeastern University collaborated with the institute on research into toxicity detection within Ubisoft's multiplayer title For Honor.

Recent months have brought further recognition. Doctoral students Nemanja Rasajski and Chintan Trivedi won the best paper award at the European Conference on Computer Vision, while the RECLAIM project, involving several institute members including Professors Liapis and Yannakakis, Dr Iro Voulgari, and doctoral students Konstantinos Sfikas and Rasajski, received the Best Transnational Collaboration accolade. Professor Stefano Gualeni was additionally invited to keynote at iGGi, the games research school led by Queen Mary University, which sits one position above Malta in the same ranking.

The Institute of Digital Games offers a Master of Science in Digital Games alongside doctoral programmes in game AI, game design, and game studies.