Side-by-side distribution
Game Developer
$173,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 16.1%
- Live roles
- 93
Software Engineer
$171,850
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 33.7%
- Live roles
- 32,966
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)
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Software Engineer, Machine Learning (Audio)
Senior Software Engineer
Software Engineer - AI
Senior Software Engineer (Database Reliability)
Staff Software Engineer, Kubernetes Platform
Staff Software Engineer, Node Infra
Staff Software Engineer, Code RL
Staff Software Engineer, Claude Code
Staff+ Software Engineer, Developer Productivity
Software Engineer, Research Productivity
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 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Anduril Industries
|
$222,000 | 355 |
Northrop Grumman
|
$131,950 | 272 |
Leidos
|
$151,475 | 176 |
Booz Allen Hamilton
|
$142,400 | 168 |
SpaceX
|
$142,500 | 165 |
OpenAI
|
$355,500 | 151 |
Speechify
|
$170,000 | 144 |
Blue Origin
|
$197,582 | 140 |
Software Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $226,000 | 1,565 |
| Sydney | $212,347 | 4 |
| New York | $212,000 | 1,398 |
| Seattle | $202,500 | 690 |
| Los Angeles | $194,350 | 241 |
| Austin | $186,650 | 200 |
| Boston | $186,050 | 285 |
| Denver | $180,316 | 216 |
| London | $177,094 | 130 |
| Atlanta | $167,250 | 120 |
Game Developer vs Software Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Game Developer is $173,000 per year (typically $106,280–$209,331), versus $171,850 for Software Engineer ($133,713–$215,000). That puts Game Developer about 1% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Game Developer and Software Engineer 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.