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The differences between game developers and project developers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a game developer and a project developer. Additionally, a game developer has an average salary of $91,009, which is higher than the $89,766 average annual salary of a project developer.
The top three skills for a game developer include unity, game development and game engine. The most important skills for a project developer are project development, renewable energy, and project management.
| Game Developer | Project Developer | |
| Yearly salary | $91,009 | $89,766 |
| Hourly rate | $43.75 | $43.16 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 173,596 | 303,850 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
Project developers research aspects of each project to check that it follows all regulations and to complete the project on time and under the budget. They are responsible for overseeing various projects for their companies. They staff the project and make necessary purchases. Staffing could include hiring contractors and hiring new employees for the company. Their tasks are to report and resolve issues blocking work on project elements, develop project timeline and milestones with mitigation planning, and establish critical requirements of a project through stakeholder assessment.
Game developers and project developers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Game Developer | Project Developer | |
| Average salary | $91,009 | $89,766 |
| Salary range | Between $64,000 And $127,000 | Between $67,000 And $119,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | Amazon |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a game developer and a project developer in terms of educational background:
| Game Developer | Project Developer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Business |
| Most common college | Harvard University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between game developers' and project developers' demographics:
| Game Developer | Project Developer | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.7% Female, 12.3% | Male, 68.5% Female, 31.5% |
| 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, 4.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 29.9% White, 52.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |