Games Industry has Average Salary of $79,000
The 8th annual Game Developer Salary Survey was released today, and the average 2008 salary of an American in the games industry is $79,000, up seven percent from 2007.
2008 was a good year to be in the games industry.
According to the Game Developer magazine's annual Game Developer Salary Survey, the video game industry saw 2008 salaries increase in nearly every position over 2007. The recession has certainly had an impact on the game development field over the last 6-12 months, with more layoffs than you can shake a stick at. But those who survived downsizing or bankruptcy went home with a little extra money in their pocket.
The average 2008 salary of a games industry worker in America was an impressive $79,000, up seven percent from the 2007 average of $74,000.
Business and marketing personnel sat at the top of the heap, bringing home an average of about $102,000. Those who reported that they had six years of experience or more in such roles took home even more -- over $131,000.
Not surprisingly, Quality Assurance employees were the lowest tier in the survey. The unsung heroes of game development took home slightly more than $39,000 a year, with almost no salary growth over 2007. This doesn't come as much of a shock, since 48 percent of testers polled had less than three years experience. The one positive note for testers was the number of female testers, which now make up 14 percent of all surveyed, compared to six percent the year before.
Of course, there are so many other positions in the games industry to consider. Programmers took home $85,000; artists averaged $69,500; game designers raked in $67,000; production averaged $82,000; and audio designers took home about $78,100. Of all the different fields examined, production is the most friendly to women, who account for 21 percent of the field.
While QA/testing saw little to no salary increase, every other position in the games industry did - not bad considering the worldwide recession. With any luck, the next 12-24 months will see this same kind of growth combined with more jobs and new studios.
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I'm in the wrong line of work.
it's not that lot when you are working 80+ hours a week.
Hmm... And yet they complain about piracy, cheeky bastards, the lot of em.
Computer science or computer engineering will net you plenty of money upon graduation, if you manage to make it through the course work.
I'm also curious how many hours they work as well.
I can guarantee you they are not working 80+ hours a week. That is outrageous. A little math can all but disprove that. 80+ hours a week equates to a 16 hour work day M-F or an 11+ work day 7 days a week. Neither of those are even remotely accurate. These guys might work more than the average 40 a week schedule but you might be talking about 45 hours, not 80.
How do I become a game designer? I have a 25 page "white paper" for a game design that I'll be finishing in June. Any tips?
Go to a technical school (Devry for example) and get a degree or go to a University and get a degree.
The unsung heroes of game development took home slightly more than $39,000 a year, with almost no salary growth over 2007.
How little is that in comparison to other professions? It seems low to me, as I'm getting about 53K usd a year - and I'm even employed by a school - and those aren't exactly swimming in funds in my country.
There are 1-2 good games every 2-3 years... most newer games are just photocopies of older ones - nothing new, everything is so repetitive - boring...
I'm sorry but games are overpriced and game developers earn too much for what they do...
The stupid little games made by 1-2 persons years ago had more value than most of the plagiary of today.
...except maybe the audio designer - most games have actually good sounds... or I am deaf
There are 1-2 good games every 2-3 years... most newer games are just photocopies of older ones - nothing new, everything is so repetitive - boring...I'm sorry but games are overpriced and game developers earn too much for what they do...The stupid little games made by 1-2 persons years ago had more value than most of the plagiary of today.
Couldn't agree less!
When I look back in time, there's been an underwhelming amount of variation in gaming. There's been a lot of good rts games in the past that seem to be almost gone now, but there has never been so varied games as there are now. Quality is relative, and if you disregard rushed ea stuff, games are of a better quality now than they were in the past too.
I'm buying considerably more than 1-2 games in a 2-3 year timespan, and I'm rarely disappointed by my purchases.
they should be making more than that now that everyone is milking downloadable content now. come on! you have to pay to unlock something that was already on the disk? (resident evil 5)
they should be making more than that now that everyone is milking downloadable content now. come on! you have to pay to unlock something that was already on the disk? (resident evil 5)
DLC is a new way to make people actually pay the game, instead of pirate it. Makes it more complicated for pirates - although for legit gamers as well. On a side note - it isn't nessecarily a good idea for developers to do it like that. If they've created a bunch of shit, it's better to sell the whole stack at once, than sell first part, and hope people will be stupid enough to pay the second half even if the first was rubbish.
Looks like I need to move into the gaming industry.
Of course, executives and marketing people deserve the most pay, they obviously play the most important role in something like this, where creativity and technical skill make-or-break the game, so of course it's the people with neither who make it all possible. If I ever have a kid, and he/she turns out to be a complete dumb-ass, then I'm sending him/her to Columbia University for their renowned MBA course, just to prove that anyone can do it.
Looks like I need to move into the gaming industry.
Then learn to program. I'd recommend going with C# and XNA to learn the basics as well as doing mods for games.
They may be making $79K a year, but most of those jobs are in the Silicon Valley, where home prices are sky high. Everything is more expensive.
Go to a technical school (Devry for example) and get a degree or go to a University and get a degree.
Are you serious? Devry is on par with a community college. Devry is not even accredited for B.S. degrees in engineering, only the two year version (which is far less useful) in engineering technology.
If you want to be a game developer, get a B.S. in Computer Science from a real university.
They may be making $79K a year, but most of those jobs are in the Silicon Valley, where home prices are sky high. Everything is more expensive.
Are you serious? Devry is on par with a community college. Devry is not even accredited for B.S. degrees in engineering, only the two year version (which is far less useful) in engineering technology.If you want to be a game developer, get a B.S. in Computer Science from a real university.
Why bother with all that studying ? Honestly, only a single of the programmer friends I have has an university degree. And he ended up programming java games for phones .. do you really want to study that long for THAT? Another one of my friends took the long version of the education I did (a generic IT one) and is programming for a company that does real software (not games, which ironically means more legit customers).
Devry's Engineering Technology is a full BS (4 year degree). Granted its not exactly the same as a normal engineering degree, but it is not an associates degree (which is 2 years, they do have some of those courses though). Everyone that I have talked to since I graduated is making pretty good money, and in fact most of them work right along side people with engineering degrees from other schools. Maybe not quite the $79k average seen here, but generally close to that then the 39k of the QA people.
That said, the game design courses weren't added until a few years after I left so I have no idea how well it is going over or how good the classes are.
Programming and going to school is like an artist going to art school. Yeah it helps, but it is only the beginning of knowledge, not the end. They can set you on the path, but there are no finitive answers that can truely be provided.
When it comes down getting the job, most of the time it's your portfolio that matters.
Programming and going to school is like an artist going to art school. Yeah it helps, but it is only the beginning of knowledge, not the end. They can set you on the path, but there are no finitive answers that can truely be provided.When it comes down getting the job, most of the time it's your portfolio that matters.
Eh.....I don't think that metaphor is entirely accurate. Programming is a skill. Having a degree that proves you are capable of programming is much more definitive to a business. Right of college, it's a lot easier to get the job if you have the degree. It takes time to build that portfolio.
Devry's Engineering Technology is a full BS (4 year degree). Granted its not exactly the same as a normal engineering degree, but it is not an associates degree (which is 2 years, they do have some of those courses though). Everyone that I have talked to since I graduated is making pretty good money, and in fact most of them work right along side people with engineering degrees from other schools. Maybe not quite the $79k average seen here, but generally close to that then the 39k of the QA people.That said, the game design courses weren't added until a few years after I left so I have no idea how well it is going over or how good the classes are.
I don't think there is anything wrong with getting an engineering technology degree per se, but if you want to be a software developer, I don't think an engineering technology degree cuts it.
Why bother with all that studying ? Honestly, only a single of the programmer friends I have has an university degree. And he ended up programming java games for phones .. do you really want to study that long for THAT? Another one of my friends took the long version of the education I did (a generic IT one) and is programming for a company that does real software (not games, which ironically means more legit customers).
Assuming what you said is even accurate; while your friend may have ended up with a bottom of the barrel job, that is hardly the consistent result for the vast majority of the programming industry. A B.S. in CS is definitely favored over degrees in IT or Engineering Technology when it comes to software development, its all about the course work!
They may be making $79K a year, but most of those jobs are in the Silicon Valley, where home prices are sky high. Everything is more expensive.Are you serious? Devry is on par with a community college. Devry is not even accredited for B.S. degrees in engineering, only the two year version (which is far less useful) in engineering technology.If you want to be a game developer, get a B.S. in Computer Science from a real university.
Silicon Valley is not the only place for game development. Seattle and Austin, Texas are also major hubs and Austin is actually doing quite well at the time being.
I know exactly what Devry is and that is why I suggested it. He doesn't want to be a programmer he wants to be a game designer. Game design is not a four year degree it really isn't even something you NEED a degree for if you play enough games, read enough books, and know what makes a game enjoyable. There is no point in getting a degree in computer science to be a game designer. You get a degree in computer science to be a programmer.
Why bother with all that studying ? Honestly, only a single of the programmer friends I have has an university degree. And he ended up programming java games for phones .. do you really want to study that long for THAT? Another one of my friends took the long version of the education I did (a generic IT one) and is programming for a company that does real software (not games, which ironically means more legit customers).
That couldn't be farther from the truth. I really wish someone good luck competing for a job against someone with a four year degree in computer science. Most companies just throw the resume out if you don't have enough education. Certainly there is not more uneducated programmers perusing the industry than there are educated ones, not even close.
Silicon Valley is not the only place for game development. Seattle and Austin, Texas are also major hubs and Austin is actually doing quite well at the time being. I know exactly what Devry is and that is why I suggested it. He doesn't want to be a programmer he wants to be a game designer. Game design is not a four year degree it really isn't even something you NEED a degree for if you play enough games, read enough books, and know what makes a game enjoyable. There is no point in getting a degree in computer science to be a game designer. You get a degree in computer science to be a programmer.
But don't you need programmers to develop a complete game? (the real titles like Mass Effect, StarCraft, Crysis, etc.)
No it's not perfect but if you're being hired by a programmer and not HR it's experience and what you can do that matters. In that respect, an artist looking to get hired on as a graphic designer, the person isn't going to care if they went to art school, they're going to care about their work.
Same thing with a programmer. It's about experience and what you can do, not what your diploma says (or if you even have one). Programming is a skill, but there's more to it. I compare a good OO program to a good novel and I stick by that analogy.
Any computer programming pays good money not just game development. I live in Texas and work as a Microsoft .Net programmer and make a salary of 85,000 per year.
Even though there is a recession going on there are alot of companies needing software and far too few people who can do it.
That is not enough pay for a cutting-edge programmer who works an average of +80 a week. The work load in the gaming industry is very brutal indeed.
It's a great salary if you want a career that only lasts 18 months (and that's only if your game is a hit). As for the schooling, in the dozens of work sites and hundreds of IT people I have known, less than a handful of computer coders, analysts and admins have a CompSci degree like me.
Where do they get these numbers?
I guess we're not doing well with our sub $20K budget...