Side-by-side distribution
Full-Stack
$175,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 30.4%
- Live roles
- 2,796
Game Developer
$140,510
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 21%
- Live roles
- 105
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Staff Full Stack Engineer ($500k - $1.5m salary)
Senior/Staff Full Stack Engineer, Applied AI
Senior AI Fullstack Engineer
Staff Full Stack Engineer ($400k - $500k salary)
Fullstack Software Engineer, Agent Platform
Founding Engineer - Full Stack
Full Stack Engineer, Fleet Scheduling
Full-Stack Engineer, ChatGPT Education & Learning
Staff+ Software Engineer, Full-stack
Full Stack Software Engineer, Cybersecurity Products
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
OpenAI
|
$330,000 | 20 |
Accenture Federal Services
|
$131,425 | 18 |
SpaceX
|
$142,500 | 13 |
Databricks
|
$195,500 | 11 |
Anduril Industries
|
$222,000 | 9 |
Affirm
|
$194,766 | 9 |
| GR GRVTY | $200,000 | 8 |
Sift Stack, Inc.
|
$192,500 | 8 |
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 |
Full-Stack salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $215,000 | 159 |
| Seattle | $210,000 | 32 |
| New York | $200,000 | 163 |
| Boston | $195,000 | 16 |
| Denver | $188,000 | 9 |
| Chicago | $185,000 | 14 |
| Los Angeles | $175,000 | 21 |
| London | $154,508 | 12 |
| Austin | $147,500 | 10 |
| Toronto | $137,065 | 41 |
Full-Stack vs Game Developer: which pays more?
The median for Full-Stack is $175,000 per year (typically $140,000–$207,500), versus $140,510 for Game Developer ($109,593–$195,622). That puts Full-Stack about 25% 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.