# Video Game Designers

> Design core features of video games. Specify innovative game and role-play mechanics, story lines, and character biographies. Create and maintain design documentation. Guide and collaborate with production staff to produce games as designed.

- Edition: Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition
- Page: https://www.collegesref.com/careers/video-game-designers
- SOC code: 15-1255.01
- Career family: Computers and math
- Median annual pay: $104,000 (10th percentile $53,750, 90th percentile $201,550)
- Projected growth: Faster than average, +6.0%
- Openings a year: 8,300
- Typical entry education: Bachelor's degree
- Bright outlook: yes
- Data years: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections
- Pay and outlook are for the broader BLS group "Web and digital interface designers".

## Interest profile (code AIE)

| Interest area | Score (0–100) |
| --- | ---: |
| Realistic (R) | 30 |
| Investigative (I) | 53 |
| Artistic (A) | 90 |
| Social (S) | 22 |
| Enterprising (E) | 49 |
| Conventional (C) | 48 |

## What you'd do

- Thinking Creatively (importance 98/100)
- Working with Computers (importance 96/100)
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems (importance 93/100)
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates (importance 83/100)
- Getting Information (importance 76/100)
- Processing Information (importance 74/100)
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships (importance 70/100)
- Analyzing Data or Information (importance 69/100)
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge (importance 68/100)
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events (importance 66/100)

## Skills

Programming, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Complex Problem Solving, Judgment and Decision Making, Active Learning, Systems Analysis, Time Management, Systems Evaluation

## Knowledge

Design, Computers and Electronics, Communications and Media, Mathematics, Psychology, English Language, Engineering and Technology, Sociology and Anthropology, Education and Training, Fine Arts

## Also called

Computer Game Designer, Computer Video Game Designer, Concept Artist, Content Creator, Design Director, Designer, Environment Artist, Environmental Artist, Game Design Consultant, Game Designer

## Majors that lead here (NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk, 4-digit CIP)

- [Computer and Information Sciences, General](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1101) (CIP 1101, 1,547 colleges)
- [Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1110) (CIP 1110, 1,184 colleges)
- [Design and Applied Arts](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/5004) (CIP 5004, 1,175 colleges)
- [Marketing](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/5214) (CIP 5214, 1,126 colleges)
- [Computer Science](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1107) (CIP 1107, 1,070 colleges)
- [Computer Software and Media Applications](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1108) (CIP 1108, 701 colleges)
- [Radio, Television, and Digital Communication](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/0907) (CIP 0907, 653 colleges)
- [Computer Programming](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1102) (CIP 1102, 608 colleges)
- [Information Science/Studies](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1104) (CIP 1104, 446 colleges)
- [Human Computer Interaction](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/3031) (CIP 3031, 60 colleges)

## Colleges with strong outcomes (College Scorecard, 2025)

| College | Program | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yrs | Median debt |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| [Carnegie Mellon University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/carnegie-mellon-university-406) | Computer Science | $173,492 | $268,121 | $19,000 |
| [University of Pennsylvania UPENN](https://www.collegesref.com/college/university-of-pennsylvania-upenn-3009) | Computer and Information Sciences, General | $143,850 | $241,380 | $11,000 |
| [Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT](https://www.collegesref.com/college/massachusetts-institute-of-technology-mit-1615) | Computer Science | $171,815 | $225,141 | $10,000 |
| [Cornell University-New York](https://www.collegesref.com/college/cornell-university-new-york-710) | Computer Science | $151,551 | $223,309 | $12,500 |
| [Princeton University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/princeton-university-2154) | Computer Science | $155,162 | $217,973 | not reported |
| [Pomona College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/pomona-college-2139) | Computer Science | $100,072 | $217,051 | not reported |
| [Stanford University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/stanford-university-2589) | Computer Science | $157,763 | $214,907 | $12,000 |
| [Brown University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/brown-university-314) | Computer Science | $141,816 | $214,479 | $15,000 |

## Related careers

- [Web and Digital Interface Designers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/web-and-digital-interface-designers): $104,000 median pay
- [Special Effects Artists and Animators](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/special-effects-artists-and-animators): $102,030 median pay
- [Graphic Designers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/graphic-designers): $62,960 median pay
- [Web Developers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/web-developers): $92,650 median pay
- [Computer Programmers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/computer-programmers): $100,390 median pay
- [Film and Video Editors](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/film-and-video-editors): $75,420 median pay

## Sources

- [O*NET Database](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), version 31.0 (CC BY 4.0)
- [BLS Employment Projections](https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables.htm), version 2025-35, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm), version 2025, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk](https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/resources.aspx?y=56), version 2020, data year 2020 (Public domain (U.S. government work))

O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.