DISCOVERING THE WORLD OF GAMES: HOW MUCH DO PEOPLE EARN IN GAMEDEV

rabiarahi

GameDev (game development) is an IT field that deals with game development: from idea and design to programming, testing and marketing. As of 2023, the industry's revenue exceeds several hundred billion dollars, and the number of downloads is growing exponentially.

Why BEYONCÉ regrets not going into game development was discussed in the article "GameDev - the IT industry on the border of programming and creativity" . Game development is chosen by those who see it not only as a way to make a childhood dream come true and contribute to the creation of new virtual worlds, but also want to realize their potential in a popular and social media marketing service constantly evolving industry.The main charm of GameDev is its multi-vector nature: if you like spending hours searching for the perfect solution for implementing character mechanics, then development is right for you. And if you can't make friends with lines of code, then you can try yourself, for example, in game design. To sum it up, Gamedev is a field where both coding and drawing, script writing and music skills will be useful. There is also a place for those who have a mutual dislike for art and essays, but have many hours of experience in playing various games - you will become excellent testers.So, in a word, gamedev is for everyone! The main thing is to have a desire to study and learn. What is the salary formed from? As in any IT field, the salary in gamedev consists of several factors:

Specialization . We hope you are not under the false impression that the income of specialists in different GameDev areas is at the same level. Consider the fact: a developer will earn more than, for example, a designer or a tester. The median salary of the first is $2000, the second and third specialists are in the range from $700 to $1000.
Experience . When studying job posting sites, you probably came across the words Junior, Middle, Senior or Team Lead — these are IT levels. The higher it is, the higher the salary. For example, a Junior Unity Developer after completing the courses has every chance of getting a job in a company with a rate of $500 and, after plus or minus five years of gaining experience, becoming a Lead Unity Developer, increasing his salary check to $4000. More information about career growth in IT is available here .

Location . Sometimes incomes can vary not only from country to country, but also from city to city. For example, in the capital, the salary will be higher than in the region. Note that this applies to full-time employees. Freelancers can set the price for their services themselves, regardless of their location.

Skills . One of the most trivial, but important points. The more skills and knowledge of different technologies or programming languages ​​a specialist has, the higher the figure on his bank account. Knowledge of English can also be included here: despite the fact that companies have a RM who supports language communication with both the customer and the team, most employers want to discuss the nuances of product production personally with each specialist, and for this you need to speak English.

“There is one simple truth in IT: the more you know and understand, the more you get paid!” — Ivan Samusevich, TMS teacher.



When choosing GameDev, you inevitably choose the country of employment. The best today is the USA. More than a thousand companies producing games are located on its territory. If you choose overseas, then pay attention to Los Angeles, which has become a dreamland not only for filmmakers, but also for developers and startups: the city has +70 video game producers. The average salary of GameDev specialists in the USA ranges from $8,000 to $40,000 per month. But it is worth considering: a third of the amount goes to insurance, taxes, rent and pension contributions.

Despite the fact that Japan and China occupy sixth and eighth place respectively in the studio density rating, half of the players from the total world number (which is about 1.5 billion) are users of Asian countries. Asia is one of the fastest growing markets, so eastern companies actively resort to the services of outsourcers, not limiting themselves to internal resources. The average monthly salary of industry specialists in this region is about $3,000. Game producers earn the most - $3,700, testers earn the least (about $2,500k).

According to analysts, European countries will not lose their interest in the production of mobile games in the coming years. In Europe, the direction of simulator games aimed at training personnel is also actively developing. Thus, a game was created for Europol, with the help of which law enforcement officers learn to fight cryptocrime. In terms of salary realities, everything is, as everywhere, ambiguous. On average, the monthly income of a game developer in Europe is from $3,000 to $4,000. In some companies, this amount is less, but after the release of the game, the team is additionally awarded royalties.