Games developer : Salary and conditions

• Typical starting salaries for artists/animators and programmers may be around £18,000 - £25,000. Entry-level roles, such as quality assurance tester, may attract a lower salary.
• Range of typical salaries at senior level/with several years’ experience: £35,000 - £70,000+, the higher end of the scale relating to technical directors, developers, producers and team managers.
• Salary varies depending on the specialism, as well as the company type, size and location of the employer.
• Some companies offer their employees bonuses or a profit-sharing scheme.
• Working hours are usually flexible, with many developers starting later than 9am. However, working hours are generally long and developers often work a 40-hour week or more.
• In order to try to meet games completion deadlines, games development teams may need to work a 60 to 80-hour week, including work over the weekends.
• The role is typically office, studio or production house based, although there are some freelancers working from home.
• Developers tend to work in a team environment. In order to meet the complex nature of contemporary games, the size of teams can reach almost 200 individuals. It is not uncommon for groups and individual team members to be located remotely, both in the UK and other parts of the world.
• Women make up only 6% of employees in the games industry (Skillset, 2011). However, there is a small number of high-profile women working in top-level roles. Women in Technology  is working to address the gender imbalance within the IT workforce as a whole.
• Currently, just 3% of employees in the games industry are from ethnic minority groups (Skillset, 2011).
• The UK has games development studios around the country, including Brighton, Cambridge, Bristol, Dundee, Edinburgh, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Sheffield, Manchester and Newcastle.
• The working environment for games developers is often informal and the dress code is usually casual, although this may depend on the amount of client contact.
• Extensive hours spent using a mouse and monitor may have health implications, with some potential risk of back problems, eye strain and repetitive strain injury in the wrist and hand.
• Depending on your specialist area, some overseas travel is possible, although many multinational games companies have their European headquarters in the UK. Occasional travel, including international travel, may be required in order to meet clients, attend training courses or carry out research.

Salary figures are intended as a guide only.