Game development can feel like a thankless job. The work hours can be long, and the people you work for might not always appreciate the product you’re making. Worse still, other programming fields can easily set you up for higher-paying jobs and more lucrative careers.

Is it even worth it to be a game developer in 2024?

Dead-end career path?

In 2023, it was noted that approximately 10,000 people were laid off from their work as game developers. The year before that, 8,500 people lost their jobs. In 2024, Microsoft let nearly 2,000 employees of Activision-Blizzard go, and Riot Games eliminated over 500 jobs.

While gaming was estimated to have made nearly $184 billion in revenue in 2023, it’s clear that even profitable companies are willing to let their employees go to trim the fat. While other gaming industry sectors are still hiring, it’s clear that job security is at an all-time high.

Image courtesy of Daniel Igdery via Unsplash

That’s not even bringing up other problems that come with working in the gaming sector as well. A survey from the International Game Developers Association noted that over 40% of developers who answered the survey had been subjected to crunch. While overtime is normal, video game development crunch, in particular, often asks its developers for dozens of real-time hours with little compensation to look forward to in return.

So, knowing all this, just why do people still want to be game developers?

A Labor of Love - An Expression of Passion

Game development might not be an entirely secure career, but it must be said that those who go into it are remarkably passionate. Plenty of developers have joined the field not to make money but to make something unique that other people can enjoy.

Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke is one such man, having found his passion in creating video games. In an interview he had with Game Informer, he notes that he’d found a passion in making things that people loved playing.

He notes, “But the video games that I made for my friends, I took so much joy from seeing them have fun with it… I tend to only look at the negatives of the things that are not working, but I take a lot of joy from them playing.”

Mega Cat Studios’ founder, James Deighan, shares a similar passion for video gaming. James shares that his own motivation for making games is “to recreate that experience of being in the back of your mom’s van… opening up the game and reading the instruction manual on the way home.”

Image of James Deighan at ComicCon 2023

Both have eagerly expressed their own fondness for game development, and the passion that comes with it is earnest. To them, game development is more than a job - it expresses love and passion for a hobby they enjoy.

Extraordinary Opportunities

This is game development’s biggest advantage. By joining the gaming industry, you not only have the chance to exercise your creative muscles, but you’re also able to join an industry where entertaining others is the primary goal.
It might seem ridiculous to some, but this gives budding game developers a unique chance to do something different. After all, games are more than just art pieces - they’re media meant to be interacted with.

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This gives gaming an edge that other forms of media don’t have. It gives games the ability to be “reactive.”

Making Dreams Come True

In gaming, the various genres one can interact with give each title its own unique spin. Something like Paradox’s Crusader Kings involves telling a story of medieval knights and kings at war. Something like Sid Meier’s Civilization pits the world's various cultures against each other to see which civilization triumphs. Something like Creative Assembly’s Total War seeks to emulate the historical battles of olde, transporting players back to a time when armies clashed in hand-to-hand combat.

All these games are vastly different from one another, yet each still manages to appeal to an audience that loves what they offer.

Image courtesy of Bartek Muzurek via Unsplash

This singular experience that only gaming is what turns programmers into dreamers and artists. Only a creative mind can make the systems that people so enjoy, and what greater thanks is there to an artist than the love and cheer of someone who appreciates their work?

Game development is difficult, but for the crazy and the talented, it’s a way to share their love for gaming with the wider gaming audience. It’s a tough job, but those who persevere may find fulfillment in the adoration their audience brings.

If you want to try your hand at game development, we’ll be more than eager to help you find your way. Connect with us on LinkedIn to see various career opportunities in the gaming industry, or fill out this form!

This article was written by Alexander Cuaycong