Game Developer Salaries in North America (2026)
Median base salaries for 34 game development roles in North America, shown in USD for comparability. 34 of 34 roles are backed by real survey or report data.
| Role | Median | Experience | Data source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graphics Engineer | $172,500 | 6–10 years | Industry reportn=132 |
| Game Director | $171,000 | 16+ years | Community datan=5 |
| Engine Engineer | $162,000 | 6–10 years | Industry reportn=505 |
| Studio Head | $160,000 | 6–10 years | Industry reportn=505 |
| Network Engineer | $157,500 | 6–10 years | Industry reportn=505 |
| Game Programmer / Engineer | $150,000 | 6–10 years | Community datan=38 |
| Audio Programmer | $147,840 | 6–10 years | Industry reportn=32 |
| Technical Designer | $145,000 | 6–10 years | Community datan=3 |
| Data Scientist | $140,398 | 6–10 years | Industry report |
| Business Development Manager | $140,398 | 6–10 years | Industry report |
| Community Manager | $134,000 | 6–10 years | Industry reportn=41 |
| Marketing Manager | $134,000 | 6–10 years | Industry reportn=41 |
| Systems Designer | $130,000 | 6–10 years | Community datan=3 |
| UI/UX Designer | $125,000 | 6–10 years | Community datan=5 |
| Technical Artist | $125,000 | 6–10 years | Community datan=13 |
| Concept Artist | $124,000 | 6–10 years | Industry reportn=54 |
| Lighting Artist | $124,000 | 6–10 years | Industry reportn=505 |
| Level Designer | $120,000 | 6–10 years | Community datan=5 |
| Composer | $118,800 | 6–10 years | Industry reportn=32 |
| Animator | $118,000 | 6–10 years | Community datan=5 |
| Producer | $112,500 | 6–10 years | Community datan=22 |
| Art Director | $110,313 | 6–10 years | Industry report |
| Character Artist | $109,000 | 6–10 years | Community datan=5 |
| Game Designer | $107,000 | 6–10 years | Community datan=30 |
| Narrative Designer | $106,500 | 6–10 years | Community datan=6 |
| VFX Artist | $104,500 | 6–10 years | Community datan=6 |
| 3D Modeler | $104,000 | 6–10 years | Community datan=13 |
| Project Manager | $100,284 | 6–10 years | Industry report |
| Sound Designer | $98,550 | 6–10 years | Community datan=5 |
| Environment Artist | $96,045 | 6–10 years | Community datan=12 |
| Associate Producer | $93,263 | 6–10 years | Industry report |
| QA Lead | $78,000 | 6–10 years | Industry report |
| Data Analyst | $72,300 | 6–10 years | Community datan=13 |
| QA Tester | $43,263 | 6–10 years | Community datan=4 |
Work in North America?
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Sources used on this page
- Community data — public community salary datasets, individual reports shared with us, and anonymous submissions on this site (2018–2026).
- GDC State of the Game Industry 2025 — Annual survey by Game Developers Conference / Informa.
- 8Bit Gamedev Salary Pulse 2026 — Games-industry recruitment agency salary report. Cited with permission.
- Glassdoor — Crowdsourced salary estimates.