A new games innovation zone aims to showcase Guildford as the UK’s “Hollywood for video games”.

The hub, which is part of a £2.3m programme to promote the town’s gaming legacy, includes areas for collaborative working and for testing and playing games. Major gaming companies EA, Epic and Sledgehammer are located in Guildford.

The organisers of the project, which has opened at the University of Surrey, claim it is the first of its kind in the UK.

Caroline Fleming, director of the Surrey Innovation District, described it as “a leap forward towards the next generation of gaming”.

The gaming zone brings together academics, local game developers, creative tech leaders and amateur gamers and e-sport professionals to “solidify Surrey’s reputation as a leader in the global video game industry”.

Ms Fleming said: “The innovative solutions generated inside the new zone will help to tackle the industry’s biggest challenges, showcasing to the world Guildford’s credentials as the UK’s ‘Hollywood for video games’.”

Dawn Redpath, director for economy and growth at Surrey County Council, said the games industry was one of the area’s “real success stories”, showcasing the county and its talented workforce on a global stage.

One contributor to the project is Prof Yu Xiong, chair of the advisory board of the UK government’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Metaverse and Web 3.0.

The project is funded by the county council, Research England, the University of Surrey, UCA Farnham, Warwick University and Warwickshire County Council.