Steady Compensation Growth for Software Gaming Jobs

The recently published 2024 Croner Software Games Survey – North America shows there was steady compensation growth for software gaming jobs year over year.

The greatest increase in salaries for software gaming jobs was for executive-level positions. The increase was driven by strong growth in short-term incentives.

Croner’s annual report is considered the gold standard for data on compensation programs and practices for jobs in all gaming platforms. Platforms include mobile, PC, console, MMOG, social, cloud, handheld and casino games.

Further high-level findings include the following:

  • Annual short-term incentives continue to be below target for all levels within the U.S. For all levels, annual short-term incentives paid as a percentage of target were either similar or closer to target than in 2023.
  • “Hot” jobs – those experiencing material growth in base salary year over year – include positions in Production Management, Sound / Audio, DevOps Engineering and Customer Support.
  • In 2024, base salaries for Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning Engineering were highest among U.S. senior professional engineering positions. AI / Machine Learning was highest among engineering specialties which include Security, Graphics Rendering, DevOps, Database, Tools Software, Data, Engine Software, Server, Gameplay, Platform, Release and Quality Assurance.
  • In Canada, Software Engineering and QA Testing positions experienced material growth in base salary. Also of note, individual contributors located in Alberta have the highest prevalence of permanent-remote employees across the Canada provinces.

The Croner Software Games Survey – North America is the benchmark compensation resource serving the entertainment software industry in the U.S. and Canada. It includes compensation data from 57 companies based in the U.S. and 29 companies based in Canada. The survey results report on salaries for software gaming for 550 unique positions in the U.S. and 170 unique positions in Canada.

Additionally, the Croner Software Games Survey – International serves software gaming companies with offices in the U.K., Europe and Asia. The recently published 2024 international report summarizes the compensation practices of 29 software gaming companies in 16 countries.

To learn more about The Croner Company’s compensation surveys, please contact Laurie Krashanoff, Manager, Account Relations, at +(415) 485-5521 or laurie@croner.com.
Total Compensation for Software Gaming Talent Continued to Grow in 2024