How big is the video game industry? Let’s start by looking at some impressive video game stats from the Entertainment Software Association:
- 59% of Americans play video games
- Consumers spent $21.53 billion on video games, hardware, and accessories in 2013
- The average gamer is 31 years old and has been playing for 14 years.
- 51% of US households own a game console (and many own 2)
- 48% of people who play video games are women
- 44% of gamers play on their smartphones
- Computer and video game companies employ over 120,000 people in 34 states
- The average salary is $90,000.
- Employment grew by an annual rate of 8.6% between 2005 and 2009.
- The top states for video game employment are California, Texas, Washington, New York, and Massachusetts (Find out where your state is on the list)
Are you impressed by these statistics? We are. The video game industry is massive. It’s a niche that affects a huge portion of Americans, pays it’s employees well, has job opportunities all over the US, and is steadily growing. Why wouldn’t you want to snag a job in the video game industry?
JobMonkey has an entire industry guide about Video Game Jobs. Why not check it out to learn about different career paths in this cool niche? Would you enjoy being a game designer? Programmer? Video game tester? Animator? Or software engineer? There are so many cool jobs in the video game industry.
The industry guide really dives into topics that you’ll want to research before apply for jobs in the video game industry. For example, you may want to know about how to break into gaming, video game job pay and benefits, employers hiring now, how to find jobs, or where you can go to video game design school. Basically the Video Game Industry Guide is the place to start your research on this cool niche.
Of course, some people want to dive straight into the job listings. Here are some awesome video game employers to check out:
- Atari
- Capcom
- Disney Interactive Media Group
- Electronic Arts
- Konami Digital Entertainment
- LucasArts
- Microsoft Games
- Namco Bandai
- Nintendo of America
- Rockstar Games
- Sega of America
- Sony Online Entertainment
The video game industry is a fantastic place to land a job. Start you video game industry job search today!