2007 Game Developer Salary Survey Reveals U.S. Game Industry Average Income of $73,600PRNewswire SAN FRANCISCO, April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Editors at Game Developer magazine, the leading video game industry publication, have released the results of its seventh annual Game Developer Salary Survey, calculating an average American game industry salary in 2007 of $73,600, slightly up from 2006's figure of $73,316. Highlights of specific findings per category for the survey, which is the only major publicly released analysis of salaries in the worldwide video game industry, is available in further detail in the newly published April 2008 issue of Game Developer magazine (http://www.gdmag.com/), include: Programming: programmers are the highest paid talent next to high-end businesspeople, with an average annual salary of $83,383. They are also among the highest educated group; 50% hold bachelor's degrees and about 26% have some graduate work. Art & Animation: artists -- averaging a $66,594 salary -- are also a well trained group, with 66% reporting at least a bachelor's degree. The percentage of artists with six or more years of experience increased to 40%, up 5% over last year, as industry workers matured. Game Design: averaging $63,649, design positions sprouted an average $2,111 over last year, with writers new to the industry up by $6,000 to an average of $51,731. In addition, Game Developer surveyed community managers for the first time, with an average salary of $50,294 for the increasingly important job function. Production: of all the game development disciplines, production -- with a salary average overall of $78,716 -- seems to be one of the most welcoming to women, with 18% of the workforce made up of females. The discipline as a whole saw an above-average, though somewhat marginal $1,585 bump from last year. Quality Assurance: testers with less than three years experience make up the largest percentage of this segment. Quality assurance is the lowest paid of the game development disciplines, averaging $39,063, and also receives the least in additional compensation -- although Q/A leads with more than 6 years of experience average a salary of $70,658. Audio: sound designers as a group earned more than they did in 2006, up $3,474 on average over last year to $73,409. Interestingly, 40% of those in the game audio industry have been working there for 6 years or more -- more than the 36% for game design, but less than the 51% for production. Business & Marketing: the business field as a whole remains the highest compensated group in game development -- with an average salary of $101,848 -- and also receives the highest amount of additional compensation. However, salaries vary significantly between individual job titles in this section, with experienced executives making the most of any individual section in the entire survey -- at $132,305 average for more than 6 years experience. "Our Salary Survey continues to provide canonical information on the state of game pay," Simon Carless, publisher of Game Developer magazine, said. "We hope the data presented by Game Developer magazine will serve to both encourage aspiring developers, as well as focus the attention of increasingly important new industry positions such as community managers." An extended version of the "Game Developer Salary Survey" includes much more detailed U.S. regional and growth data for year-over-year results from 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007, plus international information from Canada and Europe. It will be of particular interest to business and HR professionals in the game industry, and is now available for purchase through Game Developer Research -- more information is available at http://www.gamedevresearch.com/. About Study Methodology The survey was conducted February-March 2008 with the assistance of research firm Audience Insights. More than 4,860 responses were gathered from participants in total. The survey excluded salaries under $10,000 as well as salary figures from students and educators. The small number of reported salaries over $202,500 was excluded to prevent their high numbers from unnaturally skewing the average. The sample represented in the salary survey can be projected to the overall game developer community with a margin of error for the U.S. statistics of plus or minus 1.7% at a 95% confidence level. About Think Services (http://www.think-services.com/) Think Services connects specialized communities worldwide using innovative media, educational events, consulting, training and certification. Providing comprehensive opportunities for people to learn from, network with, and inspire each other, Think Services builds strong brands and works within communities to foster a unique affinity with its products and services. The division's flagship products include the Game Developers Conference, the Webby Award-winning Gamasutra.com, Game Developer magazine, the International Customer Management Institute, HDI (formerly the Help Desk Institute), and Dr. Dobb's Journal. Think Services is a subsidiary of United Business Media (http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com/), a global provider of news distribution and specialist information services with a market capitalization of more than $2.5 billion. To learn more, visit http://www.think-services.com/. About United Business Media (http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com/) United Business Media Plc (UBM.L) is a leading global business media company. We inform markets and bring the world's buyers and sellers together at events, online, in print and provide them with the information they need to do business successfully. We focus on serving professional commercial communities, from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewelry traders, from farmers to pharmacists around the world. Our 5,000 staff in more than 30 countries are organized into specialist teams that serve these communities, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently. SOURCE: Think Services CONTACT: Craig Sinel, craig@fortyseven.com, or Sibel Sunar, Web site: http://www.think-services.com/ |