Video Game Designer Salary + 2025 Career Guide

According to Grand View Research's Market Analysis Report, the global video game industry is predicted to grow 12.9 percent by 2030. In 2022, the market value was over $220 billion and should exceed $583 billion in revenue by 2030 [1]. These projections signal higher salaries for video game designers in the future. 

If you’re in the video game industry or looking to become a video game designer, you may wonder how much you can earn. Explore your earning potential and the factors that can affect your salary.

Video game design in 2025 and beyond

A career as a video game designer can be a lucrative way to use your creativity and technical skills to work in a field you are passionate about. The Indian gaming market is expected to be worth 9.2 billion USD by 2029, growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 20 percent [2]. The Indian government is also helping grow the game industry by creating the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics (AVGC) Taskforce. This organisation will help develop the industry and training options available to learn AVGC skills, provide resources for startups in the field, and find ways to incentivise a diverse population of professionals working in AVGC. These factors and others contribute to a positive job outlook for video game designers in India.  

Video game designer vs video game developer

A video game designer creates games for computers and game consoles by designing storylines, characters, game objectives, methods of winning and losing, and user interfaces. A video game developer focuses on the coding, software programming, and engineering aspects of bringing a game to life, a video game designer is responsible for creating the game at the conceptual, experiential, and aesthetic levels.

What is the average salary for a video game designer? 

Glassdoor's February 2025 data shows that video game designers make a median base salary of ₹7,75,000 in India [3]. Further, AmbitionBox offers insight into how your salary average as a game designer varies in the first couple of years of your career [4]: 

Factors that affect game designer salary

In addition to your experience level, several other factors can affect your earning potential as a video game designer. Discover how education, skills, company, and location affect your earnings. 

Education 

You can take more than one path to become a video game designer. Although many employers prefer an applicant with a bachelor's degree, it's more important that you have the skills you need to complete the work. You can even start working as an indie (or independent) developer and create new video games. Earning a bachelor's degree is an efficient way to gain the necessary skills. You may find that you can qualify for higher-paying work with a degree. 

Skills 

The range of skills you possess and whether you have any specialised skills may impact the type of job you land and, therefore, what salary you earn. Some of the skills you may need as a video game designer include: 

• Unity Engine and Unreal Engine

• Programming languages like C# and C++

• Game design principles

• Technical troubleshooting 

• Animation and graphics

• Virtual reality

• Artificial intelligence

If you're interested in designing VR games for the metaverse, learning a skill such as Unity 3D or similar could help you specialise in a skill fewer designers possess and unlock related career and salary opportunities. 

Company 

The amount you earn as a video game designer can also depend on what company you work for. Consider how salaries differ across five companies, according to Glassdoor as of February 2025 [3]: 

• Zynga: ₹15 L

• Juego Studios: ₹4 L

• Games2Win: ₹4 L

• Ubisoft: ₹6 L

• SplashLearn: ₹12 L

Location 

Where you live and work may factor in how much you can earn as a video game designer. According to AmbitionBox, the average video game designer's salary varies across states and territories: 

• Bangalore: ₹11 L

• Chennai: ₹2.7 L

• Mumbai: ₹5.1 L

• Ahmedabad: ₹2.8 L

• New Delhi: ₹10.1 L

• Kolkata: ₹4 L

• Pune: ₹7.4 L

• Hyderabad: ₹11.2 L

*All annual base salary data is sourced from AmbitionBox as of February 2025.

Video game designer job outlook

One way to predict that the job outlook for video game designers in India is good is to consider the popularity of video games. According to Statista, 167.7 million people in India will play video games by 2027 [5]. This demand will help drive job growth as designers will need to create new games for this fan base. 

Another promising factor for Indian game designers is the government's emphasis on the industry. In addition to the AVGC Taskforce, Prime Minister Modi also shared a strategy called "Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat." This initiative encourages game designers in India to create new titles that share Indian folklore and culture. The government sees video games as part of India's future, along with these and other programmes. 

Game designer salary best practices 

Whilst your education, experience, location, and other factors can influence how much you earn, you can still utilise best practices to help you find the best-paying job. As you continue your job search and develop your career, use these tips to increase your potential for higher earnings. 

1. Refine your research methods.

Stay current on the skills, experience, education, and other qualifications employers seek in a video game designer. Start by creating accounts on job sites like Glassdoor, Naukri.com, LinkedIn, and Indeed. You can use these resources to navigate the different data points on each site, such as average salaries, career trajectories, career advice, company reviews, and more. You can also study job descriptions and sign up to receive notifications when positions open up at different companies.  

2. Gain job-ready skills and experience in game design. 

Continuing your education can help expedite career advancement. Use insights from your research to prioritise the skills you learn and opportunities to apply them. For example, the positions you are most interested in require a degree or professional credentials in game design. You can satisfy employers' requirements by taking courses on specific topics in game design. If you can, consider taking on freelance projects to diversify your experience and build a portfolio. 

3. Build a game designer network.

Having a strong network of contacts in the gaming industry can position you to learn about job openings and other career-building opportunities. To build your network, you can: 

• Attend professional conferences and networking events. 

• Join online communities like EGR and GamesIndustry.biz.

• Follow other video game designers on social media and engage with their content. 

Get started in game design on Coursera 

Online courses can be a great way to boost your video game designer job performance, enable more career opportunities, and increase your earning potential. Explore the options below, offered by CalArts, Stanford, and the University of Colorado System: 

For an introduction to game design, interactive storytelling, and character design, consider enrolling in the online and self-paced Game Design: Art and Concepts Specialisation. You can also learn game theory for free from Stanford University in as little as 17 hours with the online course Game Theory. You'll learn about different types of games, reward systems, and the technology that powers them.

To learn game development and design with C# and Unity, enroll in the C# Programming for Unity Game Development Specialisation offered by the University of Colorado. You’ll find these options and more on Coursera.