Austin Yarger

Austin is an international educator and Lecturer of game development / XR in the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering, co-founder of the International Game Developers Association (Ann Arbor Chapter), creator of the Michigan Game Studios database, leader of the XAcademy GameDev track in Shanghai, designer of the A2 Game Engine, and president of Arbor Interactive, a local game and software development firm.

In the realm of teaching at the University of Michigan, Austin has…

• Taught EECS 494 : Game Design and Development since 2017.
• Created EECS 440 : Extended Reality for Social Impact in 2022.
• Created UARTS 175 : Multidisciplinary Creative Projects in 2022.
• Created EECS 498.007 : Game Engine Architecture (and the A2 Game Engine) in 2024.
• Created EECS 298 : 3D Technical Art and Animation in 2025.

And been honored with…

• The EECS Outstanding Service Award in 2015 (Wolverine Soft).
• The Jon R. and Beverly S. Holt award for excellence in teaching in 2025.

His students have achieved positions at prestigious game developers such as miHoYo, Mojang, Naughty Dog, Blizzard, Riot Games, Bungie, Santa Monica Studio, 343 Industries, Roblox, Meta, Niantic, Bethesda, Netherrealm Studios, Electronic Arts, NVidia, Unity, Schell Games, Autodesk, Playground Games, Serenity Forge, Wargaming, Apple, Ubisoft, Playstation, Iron Galaxy, Gearbox Software, Epic Games, Warner Bros, Obsidian, Stardock, Volition, Zynga, Gaudium, NetEase, Jackbox Games, and Amazon Game Studios among others.

A long-time hobbyist game developer, Austin got his taste of professional game development in the summer of 2014 with an internship at Maxis (Electronic Arts) where he helped engineer 2015’s top selling computer game, The Sims 4. In addition to stops at EA Mobile and Facebook, Austin served as President of the Wolverine Soft game development organization from 2011 – 2014. He curates the MichiGames Arcade Cabinet in the Beyster Building, mentors the Huron High School Game Development Team, consults with technology startups in downtown Ann Arbor, and organizes multi-university exhibitions with Eastern Michigan University and Lawrence Technological University. He acquired a Bachelors and Masters degree from the University of Michigan in 2015 and 2018, respectively. His research interests include non-gaming applications of game development tools, technologies, and techniques. Learn more at www.ayarger.com and connect with him on linkedin.

In his spare time, Austin flies general aviation airplanes with Michigan Flyers, exercises the Bogleheads investing philosophy, bikes around Ann Arbor, practices the Japanese language with friends, and plays cheap-and-spooky horror games on itch.io.