Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between game engineers and staff software engineers 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 engineer and a staff software engineer. Additionally, a staff software engineer has an average salary of $136,653, which is higher than the $104,976 average annual salary of a game engineer.
The top three skills for a game engineer include unity, python and game engine. The most important skills for a staff software engineer are java, python, and software development.
| Game Engineer | Staff Software Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $104,976 | $136,653 |
| Hourly rate | $50.47 | $65.70 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 242,571 | 371,213 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
The main task of a game engineer is to design software programs for computer games. Game engineers develop gaming networks and programs for third-party-usage. They create the mechanics of the games, which are coordinated with a story. Also called specialized software engineers, they create coding sequences for gameplay. They may need to establish various codes for gaming devices. The skills they need include knowledge of gaming trends, teamwork skills, programming language proficiency, and creativity.
A Staff Software Engineer is responsible for developing, maintaining, and repairing company software for maximum efficiency and usability. They instruct and mentor their team members in software development techniques and cloud development.
Game engineers and staff software engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Game Engineer | Staff Software Engineer | |
| Average salary | $104,976 | $136,653 |
| Salary range | Between $72,000 And $152,000 | Between $100,000 And $186,000 |
| Highest paying City | Novato, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Meta | Airbnb |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Retail |
There are a few differences between a game engineer and a staff software engineer in terms of educational background:
| Game Engineer | Staff Software Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Harvard University | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between game engineers' and staff software engineers' demographics:
| Game Engineer | Staff Software Engineer | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 96.5% Female, 3.5% | Male, 83.0% Female, 17.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.6% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 31.3% White, 50.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.6% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 33.5% White, 48.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |