Side-by-side distribution
Frontend Engineer
$182,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 34%
- Live roles
- 966
Game Developer
$140,510
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 21%
- Live roles
- 105
Highest-paying jobs
Site Reliability Engineer - Frontend
Staff Frontend Engineer ($400k - $500k salary)
Staff / Principal Frontend Software Engineer
Principal Software Engineer, Frontend - Design Systems
Software Engineer, Frontend
Senior Software Engineer, UI
Frontend AI Principal Engineer - Cortex Code
Staff Software Engineer, Frontend
Frontend Engineer
Principal Frontend Software Engineer, Connections
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 |
|---|---|---|
Air Apps
|
$60,559 | 11 |
|
Roblox
|
$268,610 | 8 |
Harvey
|
$241,700 | 8 |
Sift Stack, Inc.
|
$192,500 | 8 |
Verkada
|
$225,000 | 6 |
|
Snowflake
|
$243,750 | 5 |
Reddit
|
$228,950 | 5 |
Sigma Computing
|
$230,000 | 4 |
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 |
Frontend Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Austin | $208,000 | 3 |
| San Francisco | $205,250 | 72 |
| New York | $201,150 | 64 |
| Boston | $200,000 | 9 |
| Seattle | $189,000 | 10 |
| London | $171,448 | 6 |
| Chicago | $165,000 | 3 |
| Toronto | $153,750 | 13 |
| Los Angeles | $134,531 | 6 |
| Berlin | $102,373 | 4 |
Frontend Engineer vs Game Developer: which pays more?
The median for Frontend Engineer is $182,500 per year (typically $139,525–$220,005), versus $140,510 for Game Developer ($109,593–$195,622). That puts Frontend Engineer about 30% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Frontend 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.