25 Best Game Design Courses Online
We compared 25 Game Design courses currently listed on Coursera, Udemy and edX, priced from $5.00 to $483.30. 5 come from a named university or institution, including Michigan State University, California Institute of the Arts and MIT. They are ordered by our CourseAsk score, which is built from how thoroughly each course describes what it teaches, whether it comes from a named institution, and how it compares on price — not from star ratings, which our course data does not include.
- Courses compared
- 25
- Price range
- $5.00 – $483.30
- Providers
- Coursera, Udemy, edX
- Last updated
- 30 Aug 2026
How these 25 courses were chosen
Every course below is a real, currently listed course from Coursera, Udemy, edX, matched to "game design" by our catalog and ordered by our CourseAsk score. Courses whose own title names the topic rank above those only tagged with it.
There are no star ratings on this page — the course feeds we license do not include them, and we would rather leave a column out than fill it with a number we cannot stand behind. What we do have is price: these range from $5.00 to $483.30, as listed by the provider when we last updated the page.
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1
Game Design and Development 5: Capstone Project
Offered by Michigan State University
In the game design and development capstone course, you will create an original game from initial concept up to the first playable version! Along the way, you will have the opportunity to put your game ideas in front of...
$49.00listed price -
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2
Game Design and Development 1: 2D Shooter
Offered by Michigan State University
If you love games and want to learn how to make them, then this course will start you down that path. Making games is a creative and technical art form. In this course you will familiarize yourself with the tools and pra...
$49.00listed price -
3
Game Design and Development 2: 2D Platformer
Offered by Michigan State University
If you love games and want to learn how to make them, then this course is your second step down that path. In this course you will learn the fundamentals of game design, including an understanding of the game world, stor...
$49.00listed price -
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4
Game Design and Development with Unity
Offered by Michigan State University
Break into the video game industry with theoretical, technical, and practical knowledge from one of the world’s best programs. In this Specialization, learners build the skills necessary to design and development games....
$49.00listed price -
5
Game Design and Development 3: 3D Shooter
Offered by Michigan State University
If you love games and want to learn how to make them, then this course is your third step down that path. In this course you will learn the fundamentals of game design, including an understanding of level design, game ba...
$49.00listed price -
6
Game Design: Art and Concepts
Offered by California Institute of the Arts
Stemming from the principles of storytelling and design established in CalArts’ renowned Animation programs, this Specialization lays a primary foundation for experimentation and exploration of video game design, story,...
$49.00listed price -
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7
Introduction to Game Design
Offered by California Institute of the Arts
Study the foundational mechanics, rules, and conceptual underpinnings of game design. Define what makes a game compelling through industry-standard documentation and structured conceptual frameworks. Develop and describe...
$79.00listed price -
8
Udemy MOOC / Non-creditUltimate Guide to Blender & Unity® Game Design & Development
Let's learn game design and development with practical projects that take you from zero to hero in one ultimate course. In Part 1 digital artist Kevin Liao from Mammoth Interactive will teach you how to use Blender to ma...
$199.99listed price -
9
Coursera MOOC / Non-creditUser Experience in Game Design
Offered by Epic Games
Elevate your game design skills with our immersive course on User Interface (UI) in Unreal Engine, where no prior experience is necessary, though completion of Courses 1-4 is recommended. This course stands out by blendi...
$49.00listed price -
10
Coursera MOOC / Non-creditModern Game Design Mastery with AI
Offered by AI CERTs
Artificial intelligence is transforming how modern games are created, tested, and optimized across interactive entertainment environments. Gaming studios and creative teams are increasingly using AI-powered tools to acce...
$49.00listed price -
11
Coursera MOOC / Non-creditLevel Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design
Offered by John Wiley & Sons
This specialization provides a comprehensive journey through video game design, starting from foundational concepts to advanced mechanics and monetization strategies. Learners begin by exploring core principles such as i...
$49.00listed price -
12
Coursera CertificateEffective Game Design Patterns - Unity 6 Compatible
Offered by Packt
This course features Coursera Coach! A smarter way to learn with interactive, real-time conversations that help you test your knowledge, challenge assumptions, and deepen your understanding as you progress through the co...
$49.00listed price -
13
edX MOOC / Non-creditEvolution of Game Design
Offered by LCI Education
In the Evolution of Game Design course, you'll explore the transformation of game design practices over the years. The course examines the essential principles, methodologies, and technologies that have shaped modern gam...
$483.30listed price -
14
A Complete Guide to Game Design
Offered by HP
From crafting immersive game worlds and designing captivating gameplay mechanics to mastering storytelling and level creation, explore the intricacies of game design with this comprehensive course from HP. Receive a veri...
$5.00listed price -
15
edX MOOC / Non-creditEvolution of Game Design: 1990 to the late 2000s
Offered by LCI Education
Explore the technological breakthroughs, innovative gadgets and consoles that have revolutionized the gaming industry.
$179.00listed price -
16
edX MOOC / Non-creditEvolution of Game Design: 2010 to present
Offered by LCI Education
Discover the gaming landscape's evolution, from the surge in mobile gaming to the exciting future of the industry.
$179.00listed price -
17
edX MOOC / Non-creditIntroduction to Game Design: Game Systems and Balance
Offered by LCI Education
Learn the deep mechanics of good system design that is both fun and rewarding for the gamer.
$179.00listed price -
18
edX MOOC / Non-creditIntroduction to Psychological Aspects of Game Design
Offered by LCI Education
Learn the fundamental concepts and practice of game design and the theory connected to it.
$179.00listed price -
19
edX MOOC / Non-creditIntroduction to Game Design: Process and Creation
Offered by LCI Education
Learn the steps involved in the game design process—turning the vision into reality.
$179.00listed price -
20
edX MOOC / Non-creditEvolution of Game Design: Prehistory to the late 1980s
Offered by LCI Education
Discover how board and arcade games evolved into ground-breaking video game consoles.
$179.00listed price -
21
Learn to Code Penguin Maze Game with Scratch 3
Offered by MIT
Di kelas online ini, kita akan belajar tentang code, coding, mulai dari menyusun blok kode seperti bermain lego berwarna-warni. Sangat mudah dan menyenangkan seperti sambil bermain. Cocok untuk pemula yang belum punya da...
$19.99listed price -
22
iOS Project: Transreality Game
Offered by University of California, Irvine
Students will produce a networked game that will leverage sensors on the phone to create a unique gaming experience. The focus of the game will be to make it physical through real-world gestures, motion and knowledge of...
$49.00listed price -
23
Moving, Shooting, and Debugging in GameMaker
Offered by University of Colorado System
This course is the second course in the specialization about learning how to develop video games using GameMaker on Windows or Mac. Why use GameMaker instead of using C# and Unity or C++ and Unreal*? Learning to develop...
$49.00listed price -
24
C++ Class Development
Offered by University of Colorado System
This course is the third course in the specialization about learning how to develop video games using the C++ programming language and the Unreal game engine on Windows or Mac. This course assumes you have the prerequisi...
$49.00listed price -
25
Introduction to C++ Programming and Unreal
Offered by University of Colorado System
This course is all about starting to learn how to develop video games using the C++ programming language and the Unreal Engine on Windows or Mac. This course assumes you have previous programming experience in some other...
$49.00listed price
Best Game Design Courses Online compared
Prices shown are the provider's listed price when we last updated this page. Confirm on their site before enrolling.
What the prices here tell you
The 25 priced courses on this page run from $5.00 to $483.30, with the middle of the range around $49.00 — a spread of $478.30. That is a wide gap for one subject. A higher price on this page usually reflects who is behind the course rather than how much material it contains, so it is worth opening two or three at different price points and comparing their syllabus before deciding.
Who is behind these courses
These courses come from Coursera, Udemy and edX. The platforms differ in how they sell: some charge once per course, others expect a subscription, and the listed price is not always what you pay at checkout after a promotion. 5 of these are produced by a named university or institution, including Michigan State University, California Institute of the Arts and MIT — which usually means a fixed syllabus and a recognised certificate, rather than an individual instructor’s own course.
Before you enrol
Open the provider’s own page and check three things this comparison cannot tell you: when the course was last updated, what the syllabus actually covers in its later sections, and what recent learners say. Prices shown here are the provider’s listed price when we last rebuilt this page on 30 August 2026 — they change often, and a promotion can move them substantially. We earn a commission if you enrol through our links, which costs you nothing and never affects the order courses appear in.