SuccessfulStudent.Org recently ranked UC Irvine 33rd out of its top 57 video game colleges of 2016. Not bad, considering that last year UCI didn’t make the website’s list. According to the website, SuccessfulStudent.org ranks colleges from the student’s point of view based on factors such as well-rounded academics, cost, career prospects in the gaming industry, cutting-edge technological instruction, a track record of graduates making an impact in commercial video games, and proximity to video game and entertainment epicenters.

During 2016, UCI has seen its video game program recognized by rankings from organizations such as GameDesigning.org and The Princeton Review. This can be attributed to the solid academics of the B.S. in Computer Game Science (housed in the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences) and UCI’s proximity to companies such as Oculus and Blizzard Entertainment. UCI has also recently begun recruiting students on partial scholarships dedicated solely to video game playing—this year, the school recruited players for its eSports League of Legends team—and unveiled a stunning new eSports Arena for students on September 23, 2016.

So with all this recent success, it’s no wonder UCI is morphing into a “mecca” for gamers.