The game designer salary: One of the highest paid people in the video game industry
Ever since they were first developed and released in the 1980s, video games have changed the way children spend their childhood. From playing with toys and engaging in physically demanding games, many children have since become engrossed with playing video games of various sorts.
Eventually, even adults and people who were children at heart became hooked with playing video games because of the entertainment and enjoyment that they provide. The increase in the demand for video games in recent years is also one of the biggest reasons as to why the video game industry has become one of the most profitable and lucrative industries.
Game Designer Salary – EA Game Design Career Paths
How Much Is The Average Game Designer Salary?
And because there are lots of people buying video game consoles and video games, the money that is earned by people who are working in the video game industry is likewise very high.
Many people have mused about the exact earnings of the people working in the video game industry, and one of the biggest earners among those employed in video game studios are none other than video game designers.
The game designer salary thus attracts more and more people to try their luck and work for the video game industry, and many more children aspire to become video game designers when they grow up and earn the very lucrative game designer salary by doing what they love; that is, designing and playing with video games.
Game Designer Salary – Is It Worth It?
But contrary to what most people believe, being a video game designer is actually a very difficult job and is not limited to merely playing with video games. Thus, video game designers actually earn every cent and penny of their considerable game designer salary, because their job entails them to be highly skilled and capable of coming up with ideas that will be convincing enough to sell thousands and even millions of copies to gamers.
And since the market for video game designers has slowly become highly competitive, employers oftentimes do not mind if an individual is self-taught or educated in an institution, as long as they possess the proper skills to create games of better quality and of course, withstand the pressure-packed nature of the job of being a video game designer.
So is it worth it? Considering the fact that the game designer salary is one of the highest in the industry then in most cases, it is worth it.
Game Designer Salary – Factors to Consider
Another notable point that people should remember when it comes to the topic of game designer salary is the fact that the game designer salary varies depending on where a game designer works or for whom they actually work in their company. Other factors that can influence and affect the game designer salary are the length of time that a game designer has worked in the field and the number of different skill sets that he or she possesses.
But perhaps the biggest factor that it to be taken into consideration when it comes to the game designer salary is the different types and levels of game designers, because there are actually several types and levels of being a game designer, each different type and level earns a different game designer salary.
There are four different types of video game designers, and every one of them has a different job description, and thus, a different game designer salary. The first type of video game designers are the basic game designers, with lead designers, level designers, and fiction and screenwriters also being types of video game designers, each earning a different amount of game designer salary.
The level designers, who are tasked with designing the obstacles and challenges in each level of a video game, earn about $50,000 to $80,000 each year, with their average amount of money earned amounting to $57,500.
But as mentioned before, the amount of game designer salary earned is dependent on the length of time that a video game designer has worked in a company, and some level game designers that have a lot of experience in designing video games earn as much as $200,000 per year.
Lead programmers and graphic designers of video games; also have a different amount of game designer salary, as they earn about $37,000 a year. And while this may seem like a trifle, especially when placed beside the salary of level designers, the game designer salary of lead designers grows higher with the length of time that they spend on the company. After a considerable amount of time working for a company, their salary can be as much as $85,000.
Writers of video games earn an amount of $35,000 to $75,000 annually as their game designer salary. Lead game designers and developers, which are the people who are in charge of everything that are concerned with designing a particular video game, earn the highest amount of game designer salary, and with good reason, for they are responsible for everything that transpires when a video game is designed. The annual game designer salary ranges from $150,000 and reaches up to $200,000.
As mentioned before, the biggest factor for the disparity in the game designer salary is the number of years that a video game designer has worked, and people who have three years or less experience working in a video game company earn about $46,000 each year.
Meanwhile, a video game designer that has three to six years of work experience earns an annual salary of about $55,000. And finally, video game designers who have worked for more than six years earn an annual salary of about $70,000.
But the caveat for people who wish to try their luck in the video game industry is the fact that unlike other industries, the video game industry does not offer a lot of jobs.
This means that for a person to be employed in the video game industry and earn that coveted game designer salary, he or she will have to work really hard to earn their place in a company. But for a person to become a video game designer and earn a game designer salary, he or she must first have a love for video games and a desire to come up with video games that will truly entertain and challenge the minds of gamers from around the world.
