Side-by-side distribution
Full-Stack
$160,950
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 26.7%
- Live roles
- 4,489
Game Developer
$173,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 16.1%
- Live roles
- 93
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Staff Full Stack Engineer ($500k - $1.5m salary)
Senior/Staff Full Stack Engineer, Applied AI
Fullstack Software Engineer, Agent Platform
Founding Engineer - Full Stack
Full Stack Engineer, Fleet Scheduling
Full-Stack Engineer, ChatGPT Education & Learning
Staff+ Fullstack Software Engineer, Safeguards Engineering
Staff+ Software Engineer, Enterprise (Full Stack)
Staff+ Software Engineer, Full-stack
Lead / Staff Full-Stack Software Engineer - Console Experience
Highest-paying jobs
Principal Software Engineer, Creator Game Operations
Senior Software Engineer, Game Engine
Senior Software Engineer - Game Engine Systems (C++)
Staff Gameplay Engineer - Systems and Performance
Senior Gameplay Engineer - Game Modes
Software Engineer - Game Development
Game Security Software Engineer
Mobile Game Security Software Engineer
Senior Gameplay Software Engineer (UE5)
Software Engineer - Simulation, Game Engine & World Systems (Autonomy)
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Booz Allen Hamilton
|
$142,400 | 43 |
|
OpenAI
|
$355,500 | 25 |
CACI
|
$139,950 | 25 |
Accenture Federal Services
|
$135,200 | 22 |
GDIT
|
$168,000 | 19 |
Affirm
|
$183,000 | 15 |
Leidos
|
$151,475 | 15 |
SpaceX
|
$142,500 | 15 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Roblox
|
$269,270 | 3 |
|
teamLFG
|
$207,750 | 2 |
| KA KRAFTON Americas | $173,000 | 2 |
|
Applied Intuition
|
$166,581 | 2 |
|
Skyboxlabs
|
$147,500 | 1 |
2K
|
$106,280 | 1 |
| CC Cloud Chamber | $106,280 | 1 |
thatgamecompany
|
$105,000 | 1 |
Full-Stack salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $210,000 | 156 |
| Seattle | $197,582 | 39 |
| New York | $195,000 | 170 |
| Boston | $171,450 | 43 |
| Los Angeles | $165,250 | 30 |
| Austin | $160,000 | 27 |
| London | $156,168 | 14 |
| Chicago | $152,350 | 23 |
| Denver | $150,000 | 18 |
| Atlanta | $148,500 | 17 |
Full-Stack vs Game Developer: which pays more?
The median for Full-Stack is $160,950 per year (typically $127,288–$200,000), versus $173,000 for Game Developer ($106,280–$209,331). That puts Game Developer about 7% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Full-Stack 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.