A report shows the current state of the gaming industry in Europe: What do you earn in game development? We see median salaries for various jobs in the industry. At the top of the food chain are experienced managers and analysts, at the bottom are the poor game testers. The type of game you develop also plays a role in salary. Anyone who loves fighting games should probably learn to also enjoy canned ravioli.
Where do the numbers come from? It is an annual survey conducted by the recruiting agency Values Value and a career platform Ingame-Job.
The survey is evaluated and visually prepared. The report can be downloaded for free (via boost.ingamejob).
The survey ran from March to June 2024, and 1,832 people responded.
How much do you earn in Europe? The statistics show eight different professional fields. The annual incomes are gross and the “median income” is indicated: This is considered, in contrast to the average, to be less susceptible to exceptions at the upper or lower ends of the spectrum.
The survey distinguishes between EU countries (including the UK and Switzerland) and non-EU countries, where salaries are significantly lower.
This is how much people in top positions in a company earn
The statistics show: Top management earns the most money at around €84,000. As an analyst, programmer, and project manager, you can still make over €60,000 in the EU zone. However, these are already jobs at the “top level”; even the game tester, who earns about €35,000 a year, is already a team lead or at least very experienced.
This is how much people earn in a “Regular” job
What do you see at the mid-level? In the “mid-level” area, where you usually arrive after 2 to 3 years, salaries are significantly lower.
A “human resources specialist” earns about €37,000 in the EU. A game designer earns even slightly less. Artists and QA testers earn around €20,000, which is already in the range where money is quite tight.
This is what beginners earn: Here, as in every field, it averages out to relatively little over the year. A game designer earns €19,368 in the EU, and outside the EU even just €6,756.
The more casual a game is, the less is paid
Does it matter what game I work on? Yes, indeed. The more “casual-friendly” the game is, the less you earn on average in your job.
For example, an employee working on a hardcore game earns about €18,000 more per year than someone working on a children’s game. Naturally, indie studios pay the worst, even if sometimes a hit comes from there.
The genre also determines the salary
Which genre pays the best and which the worst? Just as it is important whether you work in core gaming or at an indie studio, the genre also has an impact on salary.
The cliché that typical mobile games pay well is actually true. Farm and city builders rank relatively high, as do match-3 games. These are all typical mobile games.
The best-paid genre, by the way, is real-time strategy, followed by MMOs. MMORPGs are only in the midfield.
There is the least money to be made if you work on visual novels or fighting games.
How have salaries developed? As Tanja Laktionova, the founder of Values Value, reports, some salaries have decreased significantly for experienced employees in HR and game testing. This is because companies are cutting costs in these areas when things are not going well, and these positions are increasingly affected by layoffs.
Additionally, the job isn’t exactly secure. Last year, according to the survey, 21% of participants were fired. Recently, there have been many grim news from the gaming industry: Gaming publisher behind great game on Steam closes 2 days before Christmas: Fires everybody
