We continue to publish the results of the salary survey conducted from April to May 2023, chapter by chapter. This publication focuses on the income levels of Russian-speaking game designers.
We remind you that we are currently conducting a new salary survey. Through it, we are gathering up-to-date data on the salary situation among Russian-speaking and Russian specialists. You can participate here:
$1,975 is the average salary for a game designer in the Russian-speaking gaming industry. The median is $1,700.
There are three main salary groups among game designers. All of them range from $1,000 but are less than $2,500.
We received more surveys from game designers than from any other specialty (over 200), making the data presented in their dedicated part of the study the most accurate.
18.6% of Russian-speaking game designers earn less than $1,000. The share of game designers earning more than $2,500 per month is almost a quarter (23.6%) of the surveyed professionals in this field.
The lowest salaries are for those game designers living in Belarus and Russia, while the highest are in Cyprus and Turkey. However, there are very few game designers in these latter two countries. Most game designers are concentrated in Russia, Georgia, and Serbia.
The majority of game designers do not associate themselves with any particular specialization. This may be due to the fact that their range of responsibilities is very broad.
There isn't a significant difference in salaries among designers of different profiles. The only exception is UI/UX designers who, on average, earn $300–500 more than other game design professionals.
Game designers, despite having a higher average starting salary than artists ($968 compared to $887), have the same median salary ($800). Most game designers fall into the Middle-level category, earning on average $1,550 per month.
Methodology
The research is the result of the third salary survey of Russian-speaking representatives in the gaming industry. The survey was conducted by WN Media Group from April to May 2023 through voluntary questionnaires (participants filled out freely distributed questionnaires with questions).
A total of 1,004 completed questionnaires were received during the survey, including 259 from game designers.