Revealed: Average dev wages stall at £32k

The average earnings for a game developer is £32,203 ($50,794) according to new data.

As part of a comprehensive salary survey conducted by Develop and MCV, answers from 298 game developers across the globe were compiled to give the final figure.

The £32,203 wage figure is balanced by a wide range of disciplines in the development sector, from art to coding to audio, production and design. A breakdown by job title can be found below.

The annual salary for developers back in 2010 was put at £31,964, meaning this year’s salary has risen by about £240.

But inflation rate calculations from the Consumer Price Index suggest the 2010 average salary would today be at £32,603.

The 2010 figure represented a £1,500 gain on 2009, suggesting that wage growth is slowing.

The Develop and MCV salary survey sees hundreds of industry people bare all on the numbers in their wage slips.

Average annual salary figures, broken into roles, is found below:

ART
Lead Artist – £37,000
Artist – £26,806

CODING
Lead Programmer – £39,958
Programmer – £27,416
Junior Programmer – £19,643

AUDIO
Lead Audio Roles – £45,200
Junior Audio Roles – £27,500

PRODUCTION
Lead Producer (Internal) – £41,500
Producer (Internal) – £31,195
Producer (External/publishing) – £42,250*

DESIGN
Lead Designer – £34,000
Designer – £24,375
Junior – £21,785

*External Producer salary can rise to £46,000 depending on publisher size