Game Devs Will Earn $51k This Year (On Average)
- Thread starter John Funk
- Start date
Hell yeah! Writing about games, getting money from the government, teaching people about art and media. It's not about being rich, it's about being happy.HeartAttackBob said:
Rich??? They are not rich, just above average then other jobs, then again they do require a certain degree for the those spots and 99% of the time doing it for the fun of the job, or to see the industry do better. Its more of a dream job per say. Hell most Teachers make 30k or so a year. And thats about average with the freakin people who pick up garbage. Of course without all the garbage and what not
These are definitely lower than I'd thought. Although, admittedly, this is an average taken from a wide range of studios, not the most successful ones, it's a wonder that the industry is as big as it is.
/Edit
Did a bit of looking around - it looks like the median salary is closer to 70-75k per annum for game devs, which is much more in line with what I'd thought.
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Did a bit of looking around - it looks like the median salary is closer to 70-75k per annum for game devs, which is much more in line with what I'd thought.
I'm working the wrong job!! Some of these wages get almost double what I make in a year. Lucky people, and I bet they love their jobs too!
However, my low wages aside, the figures weren't as high as I was expecting. Strange, considering how much one game can make on the first day of release.
However, my low wages aside, the figures weren't as high as I was expecting. Strange, considering how much one game can make on the first day of release.
If it's a mean average, I'd say that's not bad. Though considering the amount of time likely put in to make that much probably changes the perspective a bit. But I'd say there's worse ways to make more money and even crappier ways to make less.
We can at least hope they all get to enjoy doing what they love. All the power to 'em.
We can at least hope they all get to enjoy doing what they love. All the power to 'em.
Well, I'm a programmer in a videogame company, and the salaries shown here seem pretty much like reality. I live well enough to have my own house, with a lawn and everything, and a car, and cat, and so on...
I know that everybody wants to be filthy rich, but earning half a million dollars every year isn't necessary to lead a good life!
I know that everybody wants to be filthy rich, but earning half a million dollars every year isn't necessary to lead a good life!
For a lead writer? Really?Amethyst Wind said:
A number of games are hiring actual authors now and I don't think they have any coding abilities. Sitting down and discussing who needs to compromise is one thing, knowing how to code isn't.
Of course, I could be totally wrong, but if you've got a great writer I can't imagine you're going to get rid of them because they haven't got hands-on knowledge of the other departments.
They're definitely low.
I made $57k as an entry level software developer straight out of college with absolutely no prior experience. Judging by that you need to be a lead programmer to match the salary of a junior programmer not working in the game industry. The entry level programmer gets a little more than half what you could get elsewhere.
That kind of really sucks.
I made $57k as an entry level software developer straight out of college with absolutely no prior experience. Judging by that you need to be a lead programmer to match the salary of a junior programmer not working in the game industry. The entry level programmer gets a little more than half what you could get elsewhere.
That kind of really sucks.
It's not that these numbers are sending you to poverty - plenty of people get by on much less - but that they are across the board $15k lower than what a random US tech company pays its programmers, analysts (designers) and PMs (producers). And we know the working conditions aren't any better, and the work is not inherently easier, so that means competitive pressure makes a huge difference.Dublin Solo said:
They're notoriously underpaid considering the hours of enjoyment they give to gamers. Seriously, I'd be taking a pay cut to be a lead programmer and I do some programming as part of my job. Also my brother worked for a local game developer as an artist and he got paid about half of what was listed there.
People need to remember these are "averages". What are the standard deviations from this average? If it's very low such as 0.5 then these averages are very accurate for what to expect if you were to enter the gaming industry. If the SD was 2.0, then you could possibly make a significant more or significant less in terms of nominal annual salary.
