We continue to publish the results of the salary survey conducted between April and May 2023, chapter by chapter. Today's publication focuses on the salary levels of the average Russian-speaking game industry professional living in Cyprus.
A reminder: we are currently conducting a new salary survey to gather up-to-date data on salary situations among Russian-speaking and Russian professionals. You can participate here:
The unique aspect of Cyprus is its high concentration of top executives/directors of gaming companies, second only to Russia (about 15% of all top executives we surveyed live in Cyprus). Their regional share compared to other fields is record-breaking. No other country has a share of more than 10% of all professions in top executives. The country also has a record share of analysts (over 10%) and middle managers (20.4%). Meanwhile, game designers, artists, and programmers collectively make up only 36.7%.
There are no statistically significant numbers of Junior-level specialists in Cyprus, and the share of Middle-level specialists is small at 14.3% compared to other regions. Meanwhile, professionals who consider themselves at the C-level make up another 14.3% (a number not even close in other countries where their share is usually less than 5%). The same is true for Heads of Department. In most regions, their share does not reach even 5-6%, but here nearly a quarter of the respondents hold such positions.
Despite the majority of Russian-speaking game professionals in Cyprus being aged 25 to 34, attention should be paid to something else. First, the age group 18 to 25 is minimally represented here (none among our respondents). Second, proportionally, the largest share of professionals is aged 35 to 44 (almost 40% of all developers in the country, whereas in other relocation regions, the share typically does not exceed 20%).
Monthly expenses for Russian-speaking game professionals living in Cyprus are the highest among the regions we examined. Consequently, the disparity in spending between Cyprus and Russia is significant. On average, a developer on the island spends 212% more on themselves than in Russia: $2550 compared to $815. The difference in median values is even larger at 235%: $2350 compared to $700.
Given the high level of expenses, salary expectations of Russian-speaking game developers living in Cyprus are also the highest among all the regions we studied. On average, game developers report needing just over $6000 per month for a comfortable living on the island. However, the median value is significantly lower at $5000.
There are three distinctive features of Cyprus as a region in terms of salary distribution. First, there are no professionals earning less than $1000 (or their number is statistically insignificant). Second, the main salary groups in other regions ($1000 to less than $2500) are underrepresented. Third, the largest salary group consists of specialists earning between $4000 and less than $5000.
The share of Russian-speaking game specialists earning more than $4000 per month in Cyprus is nearly 60%. In comparison, across the Russian-speaking industry, this salary group does not exceed 15%. The average salary of a Russian-speaking game developer on the island is $4563 (median — $4450).
Cyprus has the lowest level of job dissatisfaction among all Russian-speaking developers in terms of work, conditions, and salary. The overall dissatisfaction with work is very low (only 4.1%). At the same time, dissatisfaction with prospects mirrors the average across the Russian-speaking industry (at a level of 44%).
Methodology
This research is the result of the third salary survey of Russian-speaking representatives in the gaming industry. It was conducted by WN Media Group from April to May 2023 through voluntary questionnaires (respondents completed a freely distributed survey).
During the survey, 1004 completed questionnaires were obtained, including 49 from specialists residing in Cyprus.