video game design and development salary
Table of Contents
- Game Programmer salary: Overview
- Game Programmer salary: Factors
- Search for Game Programming jobs
- Game Programmer salary: Details
- Other factors that affect Programmer salary
- Demand for Game Programmers
- Should I become a Game Programmer?
When young people dream of making video games, they usually think of becoming a game designer. Learning how to be a video game programmer isn't usually on their radar, because most people don't really understand what a game developer does. In fact, game programming can seem like a black art that's too technical (and nerdy?) for the average person to understand.
But the truth is that anyone can learn to be a game programmer. And there's something else you might not know about game programming: Video game programmers have, on average, the highest salaries of any development job in the game industry.
Now do I have your attention…?
How much do video game programmers make? And how much could you make as a game programmer?
Game Programmer Salary: Overview
If you've researched video game programming jobs, you know there are many "flavors" of game programmers: graphics programmers, server programmers, client programmers, front-end programmers, technical directors and so on. The game industry also has many names for "programmer." They can be called programmers, developers, or engineers, depending on the game studio.
Fortunately, the jobs – and the salaries – are similar, no matter what they're called. Let's take a look.
If you're a tl;dr kind of reader, here's the short version: Game programmer salaries range from $44,000 (entry-level) to $120,000+ per year (senior/lead programmers). Also, any given game studio has several programming roles. So how is game programmer pay determined?
Game Programmer Salary: Factors
Like most jobs, game engineer salaries are based on years of programming experience, areas of expertise, and whether there's a "lead" or a "senior" in the job title. The more experience you have, the more you'll likely be paid.
But there's another factor to consider. And that's whether a given programmer's skill set is currently considered a "premium" skill. For example, graphics programmers were in high demand ten years ago, so they were paid a lot more than other programmers.
These days, server programmers are in demand. That's why coders who can program game servers are paid more than their colleagues. If you're thinking about starting a career in game programming, it's worth paying attention to these premium trends.
Search for Game Programmer Jobs
Many game programming jobs are available, but they have different titles depending on the country, state and game company. Try searching for job titles like "video game programmer," "game developer," or "game engineer." You can also try more specific searches like "gameplay programmer," "AI programmer," or "combat engineer."
Game Programmer Salary: Details
Okay, let's take a look at the numbers in detail. These figures draw on three sources: GlassDoor.com, Game Developer Magazine's annual salary survey, and my own experience as programmer and technical director in the game industry.
One way to break down the numbers is to look at experience. Here are the average salaries for game programmers with various years of experience.
| Under 3 Years | 3-6 Years | 6+ Years |
|---|---|---|
| Game Programmer/Engineer | ||
| $72,000 | $80,000 | $105,000 |
| Lead/Senior Game Programmer/Engineer | ||
| N/A | $95,000 | $120,000 |
| Technical Director | ||
| N/A | N/A | $140,000 |
Note that there isn't data for Lead Game Programmers or Technical Directors until they have three to six years of experience. As you may have guessed, programmers are rarely promoted into leadership positions until they have several years of on-the-job experience.
Another way to break down the numbers is to look at each game programmer salary based on job title. This can be more useful (and more realistic) because it gives a salary range. It also separates each job's title from years of experience, which better reflects the way game programmer careers actually progress. You won't get promoted just because you've been doing the job for a certain amount of time. You get promoted based on the quality of your work, and the amount of responsibility you can handle on a game project.
| Low/year | High/year |
| Game Programmer/Engineer 1 | |
| $44,000 | $108,000 |
| Senior Programmer or Lead Programmer 2 | |
| $70,000 | $140,000 |
| Technical Director 3 | |
| $96,000 | $250,000 |
1 Entry-level game programmers can also be called Associate Programmers, or sometimes Programmer/Analysts. They generally work in a variety of existing code systems, since they're just learning the ropes.
2 As programmers get more experience, they may take on more responsibility or even start managing a small team. Senior Programmers usually have more responsibility for creating new technology. Lead Programmers usually run a programming team of three or more other programmers.
3 Technical Directors usually manage a team of programmers working on a large or important area of technology. At some studios, they may be responsible for managing an entire programming department.
Other Factors That Affect Game Programmer Salary
The numbers above are averages from many hundreds of programmer salaries, so they're generalized. Specific programmer salaries have a wide range, due to several factors that affect how much each programmer is paid. The largest influencing factors can include:
- Company or studio size. Larger companies generally have bigger project budgets. That allows them to pay their game programmers higher salaries. For example, GlassDoor.com indicates that some game programmers at Konami and Naughty Dog are paid as much as $115,000/year. That's 25% more than the top-range programmer salary at most other game studios.
- Education background. The early days of the game industry saw many self-taught programmers. But nowadays, most programmer job descriptions require a Bachelor's in Computer Science (or a related degree) from a university or college. So getting a degree or certificate in programming from a college or university can be an important step to getting your hands on a nice game programmer salary.
- Premium Engineering Positions. Programmers tend to specialize in different areas, and some areas are worth more than others. It all depends on the needs of the game industry at the time. For instance, GlassDoor.com shows "server programmers" can be paid as high as $126,000/year. Compare that to "mobile programmers," which average a top salary closer to $70,000/year.
Demand for Game Programmers
The video game industry is a cyclical business. But one job that never goes away is the game programmer. Programmers bring the game design and art to life, so it's difficult to get anything done without them. And because they need to work closely with the game designers, it's a difficult job to outsource to other countries.
The chart below illustrates the demand for game programmers, based on the number of monthly job postings that include the terms "game programmer," "game engineer," and "game developer" in their description at Indeed.com (a job-posting aggregator).
Note that this approach can sometimes show false positives. For example, a given job posting might actually be for a Game Designer, but it would show up in the data if it mentioned "must work well with game programmers." But that's okay for our purposes. We're interested in the trends, not the absolute numbers.
This chart makes it clear that while demand for video game programmers is as cyclical as the game industry itself, they're always in strong demand.
Should I Become A Game Programmer?
If you're passionate about making games and you love solving problems, then I hope these salary figures are encouraging. Programming video games for a living isn't just an extremely fun job. It's also the highest-paying job on any video game production team.
And if demand for game programmers ever gets too low, your programming skills will translate extremely well into other industries. If you can program games, you can also learn Web development, business software, or big data. Programming skills are always in demand somewhere, so type your ZIP code in the box below to find game programming schools near you.
*All values are in US dollars.
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Image: stockimages/freedigitalphotos
Sources: Glassdoor.com | Gamasutra.com | Indeed.com
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video game design and development salary
Source: https://www.gameindustrycareerguide.com/video-game-programmer-salary/
Posted by: friskhicess.blogspot.com
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