Posts Tagged ‘annual salary’

Gaming industry doing it’s bit for U.S. economy – $5billion worth

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

According to a new report issued by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the video game industry is clearly doing it’s part to stimulate the American economy. In 2009, the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) from the video and computer gaming industry amounted to a healthy $5 billion.

ESA Report

What’s more, between 2005 and 2009, the industry as a whole saw a 10 percent increase, a figure that’s 7 times the overall growth rate of the entire U.S. economy. However, this figure flies directly in the face of reports that the industry isn’t faring as well in 2010, with March being the only month thus far this year that’s seen month-over-month growth.

“Despite a challenging economic environment, the entertainment software industry continues to grow and create new jobs at a rapid pace,” said ESA president and CEO Michael Gallagher.

This news arrives as part of ESA’s recently published study: Video Games in the 21st Century: The 2010 Report. In addition to the GDP figures, the ESA study also carries on to break down individual numbers, as well as salaries.

32,000 Americans are directly employed by the video game industry, an annual gain of 9 percent since 2005. Another 88,000 people are indirectly employed by the video game industry, bringing the total to 120,000 individuals.

Of those directly employed by the video game industry, the average annual salary was $89,781 (I can haz raiz pls?), with an overall industry compensation of $2.9 billion in 2009.

And where’s the work to be found? Well, no surprise here, as The Golden State still remains on top when it comes to pixilated employment. The gaming industry reportedly pumped $2.6 billion in employee compensation (direct and indirect) in California. Add to that the 2.1 billion gaming companies paid directly to the State of California, and you’re looking at a healthy 11.4 percent annual rate of growth between 2005 and 2009.

Other top players in the U.S. gaming market by geography include:

  • Texas – ranked #2 with 13,613 direct and indirect video game industry employees
  • Washington – in the #3 slot employs 11,225 gaming industry personnel

Rounding out the top 6 are New York, Massachusetts, and Illinois. Also noteworthy, The State of Virgina’s video game presence expanded 77 percent from 2005 – 2009.

To view the full report, download the PDF directly from ESA.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in industry news | No Comments »

 

2009 survey reveals 4% drop in average game developer salary

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

Game Developer Research, the folks in cahoots with Game Developer Magazine and Gamasutra have recently released their ninth annual Game Developer Salary survey. The survey found an overall decrease in the average game dev salary of 4% when compared to the same figures from 2008. The average game developer took home approx. $79,000 in 2008, while 2008 saw that salary slip to $75,573.

logogdresearchKeep in mind, 2008 was a banner year for game developers, as they set an industry average record that year, not something to easily top. This drop in salaries is the first case on record of a significant average salary decrease. Game Developer Research points to a loss in consumer confidence, and attributes this to the current economic climate. And while this is a drop in average salaries, the number did not dip below 2007’s number, indicating that this may be a direct result of out of control Wall Street bankers making crazy bets on commodities failing.

Game Developer Research also took a look at today’s independent or smaller game developers, with results to be released soon.

Some industry highlights from the report:

  • Game programmers have an average salary of $80,320. The survey found that programmers with more than six years of experience in their field earned, on average, 36 percent more than the average 2009 annual salary.
  • Art & Animation folks made out better than average in 2009. They saw an average increase in salary, up 2 percent to $71,071.
  • Game Designers also saw a slight increase in salary in 2009. Up 3 percent, the average salary for game designers came in at just over $60k with $61,859. This discipline also includes writers, who earn on average $61,786.
  • Production folks earned on average $75, 082. The survey also found that this area of games is also the most female friendly, with 18 percent of game producers being female. While this figure is down from last years, it’s still almost twice the industry average. Production people also tend to be the most experienced in the industry, with almost half (49 percent) having 6+ years of gaming involvement.
  • QA testers tend to have the fewest years of experience under their belt, with nearly half having less than three years. Therefore, these people tend to be the least paid in the industry, with an average salary of $37,905. However, in contrast, if these people stick around for six or more years, the survey found that this salary more than doubles.
  • Sound Designers and composers are generally the most experienced people in the industry, and are thus compensated for it. While they earned on average $82,085, the survey also found that this segment of the industry is also opening up to new talent, with those with less than three years of experience rose to a new high of 38 percent. Balancing this out, those with more than six years of industry experience dropped significantly, currently holding at 33 percent.
  • And now for the big winners: Business and Marketing. On average, these folks took home $96,408. This figure even includes a 6 percent drop from last years’ numbers. The survey also found that these individuals are the most likely to receive additional compensation. And while this number might be quite lofty, there’s still a wide range of salaries even within this microcosm, as marketing and PR employees averaged $83,804, executives, $129,167.

The full report, “Game Developers Salary Survey” includes more detailed U.S. regional and growth data for year-over-year results from 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009, plus international information from Canada and Europe. This report, and others, are now available from the Game Developer Research division.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in industry news | No Comments »

 

2008 survey reveals average game developer salary – $79,000

Friday, May 1st, 2009

Chances are if you’re living under a rock or in a cave, you haven’t really noticed or felt the effects of the current global economic recession.  For the rest of us out here trying to make a go at it day after day have felt and seen it, but, if you’re working in the games development industry, things may not be quite as bad as those working in, oh, I don’t know…finance perhaps?  And while the full impact of the recession is difficult to put a finger on, recent survey data released by Game Developer Magazine indicates that not only is the demand strong for game developers, but flourishing as well.

game-developer-research-logoAs noted in our previous coverage of Game Developer studies, the gaming industry as a whole seems to be doing remarkably well in these uncertain economic times.  Early last month, their study showed that game development outsourcing (to firms such as ours) is on the rise, and last Halloween we covered their release of a 13% increase in North American gaming jobs over the course of 2007.  This recent news from Game Developer doesn’t disappoint, as they found in their 8th annual Game Developer Salary Survey that the average American game industry salary in 2008 landed just $1,000 short of $80,000/year.  This figure reflects a 7% increase from 2007’s figure of roughly $74,000.

However, this information must be taken with a grain of salt, as the recession is notably reducing the number of available positions.  Given this quandary, as less jobs become available, more experienced game developers find themselves in a position to ask for higher salaries.  Selected highlights from the industries only major publically released analysis of salaries in the video game industry:

  • Programming: programmers are the highest paid talent next to high-end businesspeople, with an average annual salary of $85,024. Experience pays in this role, as those with greater than six years of experience earned 26% more than the average annual salary.
  • Art & Animation: artists – averaging a $69,532 salary, nonetheless, 28% of art directors reported lower salaries than the previous year. But these more experienced, higher status artists also tend to earn at least 35% more than those with less experience and lower title.
  • Game Design: Averaging $67,379, design positions sprouted an average $3,730 over last year. As with many roles, region makes a difference, given that West Coast designers make on average $8,283 or 12% more than the rest of the game designers in the country.
  • Production: of all the game development disciplines, production – with a salary average overall of $82,905 – is the most welcoming to women, with 21% of the workforce made up of females – more than twice the industry average. The discipline as a whole saw a strong $4,189 bump from last year.
  • Quality Assurance: testers with less than three years experience make up the largest percentage of this segment – 46%. Quality assurance is the lowest paid of the game development disciplines, averaging $39,571 – almost flat to 2007 – and the majority of Q/A people – 87% – are lesser experienced. The number of female Q/A testers jumped from 6% in 2007 to 14% in 2008.
  • Audio: sound designers as a group earned 6% more than they did in 2007, up $4,758 on average over last year to $78,167. 74% of audio developers reported that their salaries increased over 2007. Interestingly, 48% of those in the game audio industry have been working there for 6 years or more – more than the 40% for game design, and equal to the 48% for production.
  • Business & Marketing: the business field as a whole remains the highest compensated group in game development – with an average salary of $102,143 – and also receives the highest amount of additional compensation. However, salaries vary significantly between individual job titles in this section, with experienced VPs and executive managers making the most of any individual section in the entire survey – at $131,085 on average and reporting at least 6 years experience.

The full report is available from Game Developer Research and covers mush more details US regional and growth data, including year over year results from 2004 – 2008.  The full report also spotlights data accrued from Canada and Europe.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in industry news | No Comments »