Video game careers

Author
Daniel Higginbotham, Editor
Posted
December, 2024
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The UK's video gaming industry is worth over £4.7billion, so now's a great time to turn your hobby into a profession by landing your first role

According to Uswitch's Online gaming statistics 2024 report, more than half of men and women in the UK view themselves as gamers. The report also revealed how the number of online gamers in the country is set to increase to 11.56 million in 2027.

In addition, the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) has revealed that game sales continued to grow in 2023, with the UK gaming sector maintaining its position as the largest entertainment medium.

Digital gaming drove this substantial revenue, which accounted for £4.24billion of the total entertainment sales (£11.87billion).

GfK (Growth from Knowledge) Entertainment announced that 2.6 million games machines were sold in the UK in 2023, while software figures from GSD (Game Sales Data) show that 38.2 million games were sold in 2023.

Virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) are among the industry's fastest-developing technologies. This has been shown through the success of Sony's PlayStation Virtual Reality (PSVR) headset. Their second-generation version, PSVR 2, has sold around two million units since its release in February 2023.

Careers in the video game industry

Games industry trade association TIGA has revealed through its Making Games in the UK 2024 report that employment in the UK's games developer sector increased by 4.8% in the year to May 2024.

Despite challenges in the global gaming sector, such as studio closures and downsizing, the report showed that the number of full-time development roles in games studios has now risen to 25,419. It found that over 28,500 people, including freelancers, were involved in making games as a profession.

UK gaming companies are located throughout the country. Almost three-quarters of the game development workforce is based outside London, with particular hotspots in the South East, North West, West Midlands and Scotland. The North East is also growing as a gaming cluster with 280 staff.

As the annual investment by studios has reached £1.6billion, it's no surprise that this entertainment form is becoming an increasingly popular career choice. A range of technical and creative roles are available for those passionate about gaming.

The most common roles in gaming

To get started, you'll need to decide what type of game industry job you're interested in.

Here are popular programming, design and art department roles:

  • Game artist - Your job is to create concept art, storyboards, and designs for packaging and marketing materials. You'll need technical ability to master specialist software packages and tools such as ZBrush, Maya, Photoshop, 3DS Max, Substance Painter and Mudbox.
  • Game designer - A senior role that involves developing original ideas for games and overseeing the creative process. This could be across a number of platforms, including mobile, console and VR/AR. Game design requires a mix of technical and creative skills to develop and test your creations, as you may need to work with a range of programming languages and software packages, including C#, C++ and Python.
  • Game developer/Game programmer - You take the designers' ideas and write the code required to build a playable game. It's vital that you're able to understand and follow instructions to bring the creative vision to life. You'll typically work in a team headed by a lead programmer. A knowledge of game programming languages and specialisation in a particular platform, such as PC, mobile or console, would aid your progression. You could focus on an area of programming such as AI, audio, controls and interface, game physics or 3D engine development. Learn more about how to be an applications developer.

Creative and technical specialists

  • Animator - Collaborating with teams of artists, designers and programmers, you'll be responsible for animating the characters and other elements of the in-game environment to match the overall visual style. You'll require artistic ability and knowledge of technical computer packages such as Maya and 3DS Max. You'll also need to consider the technical strengths and limitations of the game's graphics engine and the platform it's being developed for.
  • Audio engineer - Music, sound effects and character voices all play a key role in immersing players in the game world. You'll work with producers and designers to create and mix the soundtrack. A technical understanding of audio recording equipment and software is essential. Still, you should also be creative and imaginative, as your responsibilities may extend to composing music, producing sound effects, and auditioning actors for voice roles.
  • IT technical support officer - Technical support officers link video game publishers to their audience. You'll be the point of contact for gamers with product issues. Communication skills are essential as you'll need to listen to customer complaints and questions, understand them and resolve them in a professional manner - whether by phone, email or replying to forum/social posts.
  • Software testers - Also known as quality assurance (QA) testers, ensure the product is ready for release. This involves playing the game in various scenarios and on different hardware configurations to check for bugs, inconsistencies and other faults. You'll need to work methodically, concentrate for long periods, and pay great attention to detail. Patience is vital as you'll repeatedly replay sections of the game, searching for anything that needs fixing. You'll also have to communicate your findings and suggest solutions.

Non-technical gaming jobs

When the game is finished and ready to be sold to consumers, publishers need people with skills in marketing, advertising and PR, and sales.

Some of these roles include:

  • Game producer - As well as overseeing the game's development, you'll also be responsible for project management from a business and financial perspective.
  • Marketing executive - You'll create targeted campaigns for upcoming games. This involves coordinating the design of press releases, online adverts, promotional videos, in-game screenshots and gameplay reviews.
  • Translator - To localise scripts, in-game text and documentation for sale in international markets.
  • Writer - To write scripts, in-game text and instruction manuals. While sometimes known as a narrative designer, you won't typically be involved in the game design process. Instead, you'll be tasked with creating a story, adding depth to the characters and working within the overall game design structure.

Become an esports gamer

Aside from being a game (QA) tester, another alternative - if you're an incredibly skilled player - is to explore the possibility of becoming a professional gamer.

The UK esports scene continues to grow in popularity. Statista revealed that it's worth £180million (2024) and expects it to double in size between 2020 and 2029.

In terms of the money that can be earned, Esports Earnings has revealed that UK players have amassed £36.6million across over eight thousand tournaments.

Some of the biggest names in esports now have a presence in the UK, including:

  • Twitch
  • FACEIT
  • Riot Games.

Research from Ukie, the UK's gaming industry body, found that the UK is home to the largest community of student esports players in Europe.

The industry's national body, British Esports, runs grassroots tournaments in a number of secondary schools and FE (further education) colleges. Read about the roles available and entering the industry at British Esports - Getting a career in esports.

You can also get the latest esports news at Esports Insider (ESI).

In terms of qualifications, the London-based College of Esports offers a range of video game and esports courses, including:

  • BA International Esports Business
  • BA International Esports Business and Events Management
  • BA Esports Coaching and Management
  • BSc Games Development.

Other college and university courses include:

Undergraduate and Masters students at the University of Roehampton can apply for the Roehampton Esports Scholarship, which is worth £2,000 a year.

Finding video game jobs in the UK

Job vacancies in the UK games industry are regularly listed on studio websites such as:

While many of the bigger game publishers take on graduates, specific gaming graduate schemes are harder to come by. Read more about general tech graduate schemes.

Despite larger firms' well-publicised commercial success, most UK development companies are micro studios, with four or fewer full-time staff.

Vacancies are often listed on specialist game industry and creative job websites, such as:

You can also search for employers in the UK gaming industry by using Ukie's map of game developers and publishers.

Break into the gaming industry

To boost your chances of success, attend gaming events and join forums to hear about the latest opportunities. Making contacts is key to working in the industry, and you'll need to be armed with a portfolio that showcases your talents. To build your experience, offer to test early versions of games and have a go at designing your own.

Many gaming professionals choose to work freelance. Learn how to do this by reading the ScreenSkills Freelance Toolkit, which has been designed specifically for those working in the screen industries.

Adam Boyne and two of his fellow students from the University of Hull decided to set up their own company, BetaJester, after coming up with the idea in their final year.

'When I was looking at universities, I didn't consider game development as an option,' explains Adam. 'I was told it was too competitive and that I couldn't get in, but now I'm running my own games company and received funding from the UK Games Fund. It's about hard work and dedication. Anyone can break into the games industry.'

Adam advises students to learn how to code, participate in game jams, and grasp opportunities at university.

Get gaming work experience

With so much competition for jobs, gaining relevant work experience is crucial for landing an entry-level role with major game studios.

Many of the big names run their own internship programmes, so explore gaming internships offered by:

You can also find internships through organisations such as Grads In Games.

Smaller studios may also welcome speculative applications for work experience.

Explore other IT internships.

Study video game courses

If you're interested in going to university to study the subject, consider game-related degrees offered by these universities:

There are also specialist Masters programmes:

Search all postgraduate courses in game design.

Discover more about the skills, qualifications and work experience you need to work in gaming by reading ScreenSkills - Starting your career.

Explore gaming apprenticeships

As this industry is notoriously tough to break into, gaming apprenticeships offer a structured entry route, combining classroom-based learning with on-the-job training.

There are game developer apprenticeships for those looking to start out in a development position. Gaming apprenticeships are also available for roles such as:

  • animator
  • game designer
  • software development technician
  • tester
  • visual effects artist.

If you can't find any opportunities with the major game publishers, specialist recruitment companies such as Aardvark Swift often advertise apprenticeships in video gaming.

Search for gaming apprenticeships at GOV.UK - Find an apprenticeship and read about other IT apprenticeships.

Find out more

Written by Daniel Higginbotham, Editor

Prospects · December 2024

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