The gaming industry is worth an estimated $350 Billion, and with constant advancements in technology and wider adoption for this technology across other industry sectors it’s no surprise that this is a market that many organizations are actively looking to recruit talent within, even considering the recent layoffs at some companies in this industry. We are working with several organizations who are plotting a positive momentum in this industry, so we wanted to share some information to assist brands who are actively looking to hire gaming developers in 2024.
Market mapping
There are over 2,800 video games software developer businesses in the USA, so it’s good to understand the market and know who your competitors are. We have access to insights to show what technologies are being used at different organizations, where talent is most prevalent, where brands are winning and losing gaming talent to, and the average tenure for gaming talent. This is extremely useful to know if you are looking to grow a talent pool of gaming developers. Understanding the tech stack used by different organizations can help you stand out when reaching out to gaming talent affected by recent layoffs too, just reach out to us at [email protected] if you’d like a tailored market insight report.
Salaries
Salary and compensation is one of the top drivers for gaming talent choosing to make a career move, so you need to ensure your salaries are competitive or above to stand out. According to BuiltIn, the average base salary for a game developer is $116K per year, but developers can expect around an additional $5K cash compensation too. This varies on city (San Fran is highest average at $156K), if you are keen to check your salaries are competitive in the market reach out to us. When advertising, make sure your salaries are visible and transparent. 40% of tech professionals told us in a recent survey that not posting a salary in the job advert was their biggest red flag from a potential employer, so aim to be open and honest from this first important candidate touchpoint.
Navigating an uncertain market
We can’t shy away from the fact the gaming industry has been impacted by a number of saddening layoffs. Activision Blizzard, Riot Games, Twitch and Unity are a few companies that have been affected. If you are an organization who has made layoffs then there are a few things you can do to protect your employer brand: Maintain empathy, provide support to employees, embrace open communication and help assist employees affected to find new roles. If you are looking to attract talent externally you will want to consider your external communications to provide reassurance to prospective talent. Share your business objectives, build confidence and highlight any steps you have in place to safeguard employees from events such as these. It can be a scary time to jump ship for gaming developers, so you’ll need to build confidence in your brand to attract the right people.
Attend GDC
GDC is the game industry’s premier professional event, championing game developers and the advancement of their craft. The Game Developers Conference (GDC) brings the game development community together to exchange ideas, solve problems, and shape the future of the industry across five days of education, inspiration, and networking. Attendees include programmers, artists, producers, game designers, audio professionals, and business leaders. This can be a great opportunity to connect with prospective gaming talent, so consider getting yourself down to the event in San Francisco March 18th-22nd 2024!
Image from https://gdconf.com/
Showcase your employer brand
Developing a positive employee experience, ensuring your employees are happy and engaged and investing into your employer brand are all important business objectives. A strong employer brand can help you attract and retain the best talent, and in a market as competitive as technology / gaming this could not be more important. You need to ensure you communicate the reasons why a gaming developer should join you instead of your competitors, so you’ll need to understand what is important to this specific candidate demographic for starters. Things like showing the projects you work on, the tech stack your developers use, the benefits you offer, your company culture, and of course the salary you will pay are all great ways to do this. If you need a hand with positioning your employer brand to attract gaming talent, then reach out to our sister brand Holler for a free employer brand score and discovery dive!
Use Searchability
Finding the right gaming developers isn’t an easy task. It takes time, investment to the right platforms and recruiting technologies, being able to flex to speak to candidates early in the morning and late at night, and great negotiation ability to see real success. That’s why our clients choose to use Searchability to recruit this talent for them. We do all the hard work, all you need to do is interview the candidates you choose to see, and feedback to us quickly. If you want to discuss our different hiring packages then get in touch today at [email protected].
