Nearly all degree courses in video gaming at British universities leave graduates unfit to work in the industry, campaigners warned today.

Leading figures in the video games industry, which is worth about £500m to the economy each year, are unhappy with the 95% of degree courses at UK universities that are unaccredited and fail to equip graduates with the necessary skills to build a career in the industry.

A new campaign - Games Up? - which is backed by most of the UK's gaming companies, urges the government to address a serious skills shortage in the sector that could see the industry move abroad to find more talent.

Of the 81 universities in the UK offering video gaming-related degrees, only four are accredited by Skillset, the sector skills council for creative media.

It accredits courses that ensure students are grounded in the core skills needed by the industry, such as programming, computer science and art.

Many students also undertake work placements, team-based projects and internships within industry to get experience at studios.

Skillset wants more universities to join the scheme to make sure graduates are properly recognised and supported by industry.

Industry research indicates graduates from accredited courses are more than three times as likely to get a job in the industry on completion of their course as graduates from other games courses.

The UK studio sector is facing a serious recruitment crisis, compounded by the decline in the number of maths, physics and computer science graduates, the campaigners warned.

They are calling on ministers to help industry create centres of excellence - similar to the model of government support for the London Film School - to improve standards of education, training and qualifications and to promote how important industry accreditation is for existing games courses.

They also recommend government-assisted work placements for games, maths, physics and computer science undergraduates.

David Braben, the chairman of Frontier Developments and campaign spokesman, said: "The games development sector is a jewel in the crown of the UK economy, made up of a large number of creative and highly-skilled people.

"However, we are facing a serious decline in the quality of graduates looking to enter the industry. The dearth of maths, physics and computer science graduates is hitting us hard along with other core UK industries.

"The problem is compounded by the quality of so called specialist games degree courses; 95% of video gaming degrees are simply not fit for purpose.

"Without some sort of common standard, like Skillset accreditation, these degrees are a waste of time for all concerned."

Jamie Macdonald, the vice-president of Worldwide Studios, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, said: "We want to work with government to help equip our graduates with the skills they need to thrive in one of the most dynamic and profitable industries in the world.

"We are willing to work closely to support centres of excellence as finishing schools for graduates and provide real-world work experience via a government-assisted internship programme.

"We can also play a vital role in enticing younger students to persist with so-called "harder" subjects such as maths and science by showing that aspirational careers in video gaming are achievable."

Over the past two years, UK-made games have generated nearly £4bn globally.

The studio sector employs nearly 10,000 staff in the UK: 4,200 work at the country's 163 independent developers, 4,500 work for the 45 publishers, and the remainder are freelancers or work in services or technology companies.