How Much Do Game Designers Make?
Having a clear understanding of earnings potential is important, especially if you are researching career paths or considering changing jobs. If you're one of those people, and you're curious what kind of salary game designers make, you've come to the right place.
Using data from Lightcast,™ the Best Adult Colleges and Careers Guide has compiled rich information about salary for game designers and related jobs, including details about average compensation, salary trends and job growth. We've also gathered advertised salaries from actual job postings to provide insight into what employers of game designers are offering as compensation.
Keep reading to learn more about how much game designers can expect to make in the United States.
At a Glance: Salary & Jobs for Game Designers
According to data from 2023, there were about 113,689 positions for game designers in the United States. In terms of salary, the national median salary for game designers was reported to be $98,530. Additionally, when examining job demand, employers across the country posted 47,002 job postings related to positions for game designers.
How Much Money Do Game Designers Make?
Median salary is just one data point. To build a better understanding of how much money game designers and related positions can expect to make in the United States, it can be helpful to look at the full range of compensation for those jobs.
Let's look more deeply at data that was reported to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for detail into the lowest and highest salary earnings for game designers.
Annual Salary for Game Designers
According to the BLS, the lowest earners for game designers and related professions earned about $48,214 per year in 2023. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, the highest earners made about $176,488 annually.
As mentioned previously, the median salary for game designers in the United States in 2023 was $98,530.
Annual Salary Range For Game Designers In 2023
Hourly Salary for Game Designers
The BLS also breaks down compensation for game designers by hourly salary, and the median average hourly pay for game designers in 2023 was $47. Lowest hourly earners took home $23 while the highest reported hourly salaries for game designers was $85.
Hourly Salary Range For Game Designers In 2023
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Advertised Compensation for Game Designers
Data from the BLS is one way to dig into compensation for game designers, but another way to build a more real-time understanding of salary is to look at actual job postings and see what compensation organizations are currently providing to fill open positions for game designers.
Keep in mind that salary data is not included in every job posting, so the information compiled here is reflective of the data available through Lightcast.™
Annual Salary from Job Postings for Game Designers
Advertised Annual Salary
During a review of 60,184 job postings related to game designers, advertised salary was included in 22,980 of them, which was 38%. Based on those postings, the median advertised salary for game designers was $119,680 per year.
Hourly Salary from Job Postings for Game Designers
Advertised Hourly Salary
A similar analysis of job postings provides insight into advertised hourly salary for game designers. Based on 49% of postings with advertised compensation, the median hourly salary for open positions for game designers in the United States is about $58.
Salary Trend for Game Designers
If you're thinking about pursuing a career in the field, you may want to understand how compensation has changed over time for game designers. The chart below provides a snapshot of advertised salaries over the past three years.
Based on compensation data that was included in job postings for game designers dating back to September 2020, advertised salaries for game designers have increased 26%.
Advertised Wage Trend For Game Designers
What's the Job Growth for Game Designers?
Another data point that someone thinking about a career path should consider is whether or not jobs are expected to see growth in the future. The chart below looks at projected employment for game designers over the next 10 years.
According to the data obtained through Lightcast,™ there were 113,497 jobs for game designers in the United States in 2023. By 2033, it is expected that about 25,456 jobs will be added. That's a 22.4% increase over the next 10-year period.
Employment Projections For Game Designers
Additional Links
Ready to dig deeper into career information about game designers? Visit our other pages focused on salary and education for game designers.
What do game designers do?
Game Designers: How do you become one?
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