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The differences between game developers and game programmers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a game developer, becoming a game programmer takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, a game programmer has an average salary of $94,000, which is higher than the $91,009 average annual salary of a game developer.
The top three skills for a game developer include unity, game development and game engine. The most important skills for a game programmer are unreal engine, game development, and math.
| Game Developer | Game Programmer | |
| Yearly salary | $91,009 | $94,000 |
| Hourly rate | $43.75 | $45.19 |
| Growth rate | 21% | -7% |
| Number of jobs | 173,596 | 186,952 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Average age | 39 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 8 |
Game developers are professionals who are responsible for designing and producing video games for computers, mobile devices, or game consoles by taking the concept of video game designers and turning them into playable games. By using their background in software development and mathematics, game developers must work with teams to create visual content for a game and writing code to implement all the game's features and functionality. They are required to handle new game feature requests and make improvements to the game even after production. Game developers must also demonstrate their skills in artificial programming intelligence for non-player characters.
A game programmer is a type of software engineer who works in the gaming industry. They write code for games and work closely with other departments like game design and animation. If they are the lead programmer, they may be expected to assign jobs and manage the whole development process. If they are not the lead, they may be expected to develop codes so the game has 2D and 3D graphics.
Game developers and game programmers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Game Developer | Game Programmer | |
| Average salary | $91,009 | $94,000 |
| Salary range | Between $64,000 And $127,000 | Between $65,000 And $134,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Novato, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Technology |
There are a few differences between a game developer and a game programmer in terms of educational background:
| Game Developer | Game Programmer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Harvard University | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between game developers' and game programmers' demographics:
| Game Developer | Game Programmer | |
| Average age | 39 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.7% Female, 12.3% | Male, 89.8% Female, 10.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 30.0% White, 52.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 19.4% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 11% |