The Game Developers Conference (GDC) team released the "2025 Game Industry Salary Report." Based on a survey of 562 U.S. game industry professionals conducted in July of this year, the report shows that despite facing studio closures, large-scale layoffs, and the potential threat of AI automation, average salaries in the U.S. game industry are still growing. However, issues such as salary satisfaction, job stability, and salary equality within the industry remain serious.
Salary Overview: Average $14.2, 60% of respondents reported salary increases.
According toGDC Report，2025年美國遊戲產業專業人士的平均年薪約為14萬2000美元 (約新台幣456萬元)，中位數則約為12萬9000美元。
Regarding salary changes, 60% of respondents indicated that their salaries in 2025 would "at least slightly increase" compared to 2024, with 39% expecting a slight or minor increase and 14% expecting a significant increase.
Low salary satisfaction: 53% believe wages are too low, with the figure reaching 69% for contract workers.
Despite the impressive average salary figures, and the fact that most people (about 80%) said their current salaries meet their basic needs, developers clearly have differing opinions on the "fairness" of compensation.
• Only about one-third of respondents (40%) considered their compensation to be "fairly compensated".
• Up to 53% of respondents felt their salary was "undercompensated," with 38% feeling it was a little low and 15% feeling it was severely undercompensated.
This dissatisfaction is even more pronounced among contractors, consultants, and part-time workers, where the percentage soars to 69%. Cross-analysis shows that women and non-binary genders (60%) and non-whites (62%) are significantly more likely to feel underpaid than men (50%) and whites (50%).
When asked about the most important aspect of compensation that needs improvement, 62% of respondents pointed to "base salary," followed by "annual bonus" (26%) and "professional development" (25%).
Impact of the layoff wave: One-quarter of workers have been laid off in the past two years, and 40% of the unemployed have submitted hundreds of resumes.
The wave of layoffs over the past two years has left a clear scar on this report:
• 24% (1/4) of respondents said they had been laid off in the past 24 months.
Of those laid off, nearly half (47%) have yet to find new jobs.
• Among the respondents who are still unemployed, 40% said they have submitted "at least 100" job applications to date.
This instability is also reflected in the mindset of those working in the field. A staggering 80% of respondents (including both employed and unemployed individuals) considered game development to be a "less secure" profession compared to others. Among the unemployed, this figure soared to 98%.
Pay inequality persists: women earn 24% less and non-whites earn 27% less.
Pay inequality remains a serious problem. The report's data reveals:
• Non-white workers earn an average of 27% less than their white colleagues ($114,000).
• Women ($12.2) earn an average of 24% less than their male colleagues ($15.5).
To further verify this, the report conducted a sample analysis of "working game designers with more than 6 years of experience" (75 respondents). It found that 68% of men earned more than $12.5 annually, while only 38% of women and non-binary genders reached this standard; among white respondents, 62% reached this standard, while only 45% of non-white respondents reached this standard.
Union support is high: 64% support it, and 56% are interested in joining.
Faced with industry turmoil and inequality, developers' support for unions has increased significantly.
• 64% of respondents expressed support for unionization in the gaming industry.
• Supporters are mainly young workers, the unemployed, and those earning less than $10 a year.
Currently, only 9% of respondents said they have joined a union (4% of industry unions and 5% of company unions), but as many as 56% of respondents said they were "interested in joining".
