Evgeny Obedkov

Bungie, Obsidian, Riot, and Xbox devs reveal their annual pay

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Game developers from studios across the US and Canada have been sharing their pays using #GameDevPaidMe on Twitter. Here is some of the most interesting data.

#GameDevPaidMe first appeared on Twitter in June 2020. Developers once again started to actively use it last week, with Bungie game designer Michael Effenberger probably being among the first ones.

Obsidian design director Josh Sawyer revealed that his annual pay was $213k, as of 2021.

It looks like Riot Games offers its developers good working conditions. For example, the company’s middle-level producer earns $120k a year, with up to a $30k bonus. On top of that, Riot offers other benefits like healthcare and a 401(k) plan.

Soft engineers and programmers earn the most on average, compared to other specialists. Demonware senior software engineer Chris Pollock, who works on services for Call of Duty, makes $155k a year, with a 15% bonus.

For comparison, testers and QA engineers have one of the lowest salaries in the industry. Obsidian QA lead Taylor Swope earns $65k a year, Playground tester Sophie Heath had an annual pay of $20k. “I would make more doing art (and have done) but because of the big sad I struggle as I have no outlet in my spare time,” she wrote.

Some quality assurance engineers, however, earn significantly more. For example, Michelle Hyde from Xbox earns $105k a year, as of September 2021.

Some women also realized that they have been underpaid their entire careers.”I’m shocked at how many men in the industry are being paid $200-300k when I don’t think I personally know any woman getting paid close,” Zynga level design director Beth Beinke wrote.

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