Career Spotlight: Video Game Developer
Working as a video game developer, you’ll have an important creative role in one of the fastest-growing areas of entertainment. Working as a game developer is an incredibly interesting and rewarding career where you can combine creativity, technical know-how, and a passion for strategy and storytelling.
Video games, once a niche hobby, are a global phenomenon that go beyond entertainment. Professional competitions, esports, and corporations working to gamify key functions to better engage employees and customers are examples of how video games are shaping how we consume entertainment, interact, and learn. Today, more than 190 million people in the U.S. play video games—with even more overseas. It’s a growing field.
What Does a Video Game Developer Do?
Before we talk about what you might do in this role, it’s worth answering the question, What is game development?
In brief, game development is a process for creating video games played on game consoles and computers—one of the many exciting career paths open to people with a degree in computer science. It involves game design; building the game engine; crafting a player user experience; creating objectives, strategies, and characters; scripting; and creating game play implements. Gamers today also expect stunning visuals and fully developed worlds made realistic through environment design, sound effects, and music.
So, what does a game developer do? The answer depends on the type of gaming company you work for. In smaller companies, you’ll cover everything, but in big companies, you’ll most likely specialize. You might work for a company that develops games or for outside consultants and contractors. Common tasks include:
- Designing games and ideating game concepts
- Programming and coding the game design, characters, environment, movements, etc. into a playable game
- Prototyping, testing, improving, and finishing the gameplay
- Working together with designers and artists, producers, technologists, and marketing experts
- Cross-platforming games to work on different consoles and computer operating systems
- Improving and expanding games with mods and in-game purchases
- Specializing in developing games for a specific system, a type of game, or even a specific game element, such as user interfaces or environments
What Kinds of Developers Are There?
Working as a game developer means you have a choice of types of roles and work environments. Some of these include:
Game Developer
These roles are for developing games for a specific platform such as Xbox or Nintendo.
Second-Party Developer
Some companies develop games for a specific platform but don’t work directly for the company that owns the platform.
Third-Party Developer
Other companies are independent of consoles and console companies, such as Electronic Arts, developing games for all environments.
Indie Developer
Small, innovative independent game studios are thriving, both creating mass-market successes like Minecraft and indie game niche hits like Kingdom Come: Deliverance.
How Much Does a Video Game Developer Make?
How much video game developers can make depends on many factors. For example, according to Lightcast in October 2024, mobile game developers earned less than general game developers, with a median advertised salary of $83,328 compared to $100,224. But when you get to the highest paid, in the 90th percentile, the dynamic flips. Mobile game developers earn an annual advertised salary of $187,264, compared to $156,544 for the highest-paid general game developers.
How Can I Get Started?
Education is the starting point of breaking into the game development field. Earning a computer science degree is a requirement for most jobs. From there, take advantage of career services, networking, and attending conferences. You can also start building your portfolio and making a name for yourself by offering open-source contributions and participating in game jams. The important thing is to take the first steps.
If you want to bring your creative visions to life, build immersive worlds, entertain people with compelling storylines and strategic dilemmas, and enjoy a collaborative environment, working as a video game developer is worth considering. Explore technology degree programs at Excelsior University.
