Side-by-side distribution
Backend Engineer
$187,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 34.2%
- Live roles
- 2,383
Game Developer
$140,510
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 21%
- Live roles
- 105
Highest-paying jobs
Senior/Staff Backend Engineer, Applied AI
Backend Engineer, Markets
Senior Backend Engineer, Payments
Senior Backend Engineer, Markets
Senior Backend Engineer, Exchange Infrastructure
Senior Backend Engineer, Trust & Safety
Software Engineer, Backend
Senior Backend Engineer, Perpetuals
Staff+ Software Engineer, Backend
Senior Staff Software Engineer, API
Highest-paying jobs
Principal Software Engineer, Game Safety
Senior Software Engineer - Game Engine Systems (C++)
Senior Software Engineer, Game Engine Systems
Senior Game Security Programmer
AI Game Developer (Designer, Artist, Or Engineer)
Software Engineer - Game Development
Game Security Software Engineer
Mobile Game Security Software Engineer
Senior Game Security Programmer
Senior Gameplay Software Engineer (UE5)
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Affirm
|
$170,500 | 34 |
Air Apps
|
$67,479 | 33 |
Grafana Labs
|
$137,917 | 26 |
OpenAI
|
$355,500 | 14 |
Databricks
|
$195,500 | 13 |
Verkada
|
$220,000 | 12 |
GitLab
|
$187,200 | 10 |
Satispay
|
$57,178 | 10 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
2K
|
$119,530 | 6 |
|
Roblox
|
$269,270 | 3 |
|
Epic Games
|
$187,474 | 2 |
| KA KRAFTON Americas | $173,000 | 2 |
|
Applied Intuition
|
$166,581 | 2 |
Zynga
|
$122,790 | 2 |
|
Scopely
|
$211,300 | 1 |
|
Skyboxlabs
|
$147,500 | 1 |
Backend Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $215,000 | 160 |
| Seattle | $214,700 | 49 |
| New York | $205,258 | 165 |
| Los Angeles | $198,500 | 13 |
| Boston | $195,750 | 12 |
| Denver | $193,171 | 6 |
| Austin | $185,000 | 5 |
| Chicago | $165,000 | 3 |
| Singapore | $156,000 | 5 |
| Toronto | $142,558 | 29 |
Backend Engineer vs Game Developer: which pays more?
The median for Backend Engineer is $187,500 per year (typically $145,757–$225,000), versus $140,510 for Game Developer ($109,593–$195,622). That puts Backend Engineer about 33% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Backend Engineer and Game Developer are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.