Salary for a game developer and designer?

Babalola Bakrin Business Development Executive at IMPRESSIT EXPERTISE LIMITED

September 3rd, 2015

What is the appropriate amount to pay a game developer and designer for a 3D game?

September 3rd, 2015

"It depends."

If in San Francisco / Bay Area / LA / NY, look to pay low-to-mid $100K range for both, if you want someone with real experience (which, for a game, you really, really do).

Salaries can go way down in other areas, but finding experienced people is tougher.

If via outsourcing on elance, you may get people very cheap -- though in almost every case you'll get what you pay for -- and often you'll get rehashed work or assets.

Or if your idea is well-formed, you may be able to get an agency to build the game for you for a fixed price on delivery, often with onshore product leads and offshore resources.

Best,

-David

http://www.doublecoconut.com/

Alexander Lau Lead Programmer/CEO of Robotic Potato Games

September 3rd, 2015

As an indie game developer, I typically charge $40/hr-$100/hr depending on the scope of the project and the size of the client company.

Babalola Bakrin Business Development Executive at IMPRESSIT EXPERTISE LIMITED

September 3rd, 2015

Thank you very much for that answer.

Harvey Weiss Capitol Technology University Chairman

September 3rd, 2015

We have new graduates getting hired at 65 to 75K.

David Still Founder of Start-ups, Entrepreneur, Financier and Advisor

September 3rd, 2015

General management, non-technical answer: If this is a critical activity for your business, then I would consider two approaches. The first is engaging guru professional services: research and find the 5 best providers and send each a Request for Proposal (RFP) that clearly articulates your business needs. You will find wide variances in professional quality and price.The natural inclination is to give the business to a friend or someone you know, which may be the easiest approach but not the smartest approach for the long run of your business. If you elect to hire someone then the process is the same but the marketing approach for posting presents multiple options. Regardless, if you are not bit-level clear about what you want than the party will develop what they think is best. My best success has come from hiring a "guru" from a niche technology development firm on a "period cost" basis. The price will be higher per project; quality better; and there will be no built-in overhead; i.e. period costs only.Just make sure the guru is also an expert in documenting his/her work so someone else may step in in the future and that like most gaming the security is built-in at the front-end.

Joanan Hernandez CEO & Founder at Mollejuo

September 3rd, 2015

As it has been mentioned, how your approach you project will impact the cost of the developer.

I've heard that Game Salad has a pretty good pool of programmers. Here in Montreal, there's also an impressive pool of game programmers, for relatively low cost (depending on the project), thanks to a lower cost, salaries and cheap Canadian $. Send us an e-mail if you would like to know more.

Cheers!