How to pass the first level, or looking for a job in gamedev

Working in the video game industry. What do recruiters pay attention to?

Although it was over a decade ago, I vividly remember when I sent my first CV from a job advertisement in the gaming industry. I did it mainly for one reason - I was completely surprised by the offer, which stood out with its innovation, humor, and creativity above dozens of others. The recruitment task was to properly mix alchemical substances to achieve a certain effect and thus present your candidacy in the most spectacular way. And although the next day I personally met the nominees for the Polityka's Passports future creators of the game Darkwood, I did not decide to work due to the proposed salary.

In the above-mentioned story, it is worth paying particular attention to two components - the form of the job advertisement and the amount of earnings. Since then, a lot of water has flowed in the Vistula, and the gaming industry itself has become highly professional, which has also brought attractive salaries and additional benefits. Currently, in the hugely popular job offer aggregator, serving employment in the Polish gaming industry, thousands of people view the advertisements, hundreds of whom apply, and only a few get the positions. Is it because the CV and tailor-made attire are rather secondary, and the competencies acquired earlier count? 

– What do employers in this market segment currently pay the most attention to? Skills. During the recruitment interviews, I am not interested in education or origin, but rather what experience someone has and what set of skills they have at the start - convinces Michał Azarewicz, Publishing Manager at WeDigGames.

Maybe. Or maybe because entertainment is inscribed in the DNA of the industry, so a rather casual style is preferred rather than wearing suits every day. Which does not change the fact that the skills of candidates mentioned in the above quote are verified by employers in practice, which makes the selection long-lasting, and the employment process itself is one of the longest and most time-consuming in companies.

Working in the video game industry. Specialization

To pass the titular first level, you should first answer the question, what exactly are you good at or in which direction would you like to develop in the future. Creating or publishing games is a very complex process requiring both soft skills and targeted specializations.

Among them are, among others, programmers, graphic designers, game designers, animators, testers, producers, scrum masters, marketers, community managers or data analysts. And this is just a slice of the positions that actually exist in Polish and foreign gamedev. Defining your space in a well-functioning organization is therefore the first step to working in the gaming industry.

Work in the video game industry. Job interview

The next one is a job interview, which depending on the position and the approach of the future employer can take place under various conditions - from a phone call, through a video call, to personal appearance at the company's headquarters. I won't write anything groundbreaking - it's a job segment like any other, so recruitment varies depending on the person and the position.

Sometimes a conversation is enough, sometimes you need to do a recruitment task. However, it is important to be sincere towards the future employer. There is no point in pretending to be a more experienced candidate than you actually are, because life will quickly verify your skills. And such cases unfortunately happen often.

– Everything depends on the advancement of a given position and a specific company. I think the common denominator is English. Without a good knowledge of it, you can't move, as at least part of the work in most gamedev positions is in this language. And from my own experience in the recent recruitment process, I see that the difference between the declarative and the actual sphere is significant – says Konrad Rawiński, Communications Director Europe at Wargaming.

Work in the video game industry. Education

Observing the video game industry from a certain perspective, and even being an active part of it, one can risk saying that gamedev likes creative, hardworking people, able to sacrifice for the greater good, loving games, understanding their mechanisms and actively playing, familiar with current trends.

Which does not mean that education is irrelevant. It is important, but in the context of skills possessed. It should be remembered that this industry is also business development, good management and brand marketing, i.e. areas where a obtained diploma can help understand the specifics of daily work. Looking from the perspective of a person who would just like to start their adventure with gamedev, it is good to apply relatively universal advice before you even decide to respond to any application.

Therefore, all kinds of student initiatives, developing interest groups, completed courses, following thematic channels on YouTube, reading books that broaden the spectrum of knowledge or actively writing about games, technology or related fields will be helpful. It is also worth including networking in a broad sense. Joining groups, forums, communicating online or offline meetings with representatives of the gaming industry, for example during trade fairs or at regular thematic meetings (such as those organized by the local H.4.O.S. at Marszałkowska Street in Warsaw - ed. note) can result in help in preparing a CV or tips on choosing a further career path.

– The recipe has been unchanged for years – participation in jams (game creation marathons) and events – says Mateusz Witczak, a journalist cooperating with Polityka and Gazeta Wyborcza.

– Not necessarily those draining the wallet, after all, local initiatives are held all over Poland. In Warsaw, their midwife is, for example, the Polygon circle operating at the Warsaw University of Technology. Besides, it is worth browsing job advertisements and developing competences. There are plenty of tutorials on the internet, and Polish gamedev is open. I guarantee that even industry veterans with many years of experience will reach out a helping hand – adds Witczak.

Work in the video game industry. Expectations versus reality

However, I warn future candidates against over-idealizing this market segment. Because the general awareness of the industry is small and associated with entertainment, it is believed that gamedev is the embodiment of dreams. However, the reality is often quite different: it is hard work, sometimes after hours or on weekends, i.e. in so-called crunch, when the deadline for the project is approaching inevitably. What's more, there are situations of budget cuts and the resulting group layoffs.  

Especially since the forecasts for the Polish gamedev industry for the coming months are not overly optimistic. The number of new job offers is decreasing, candidates send CVs blindly, hoping for employment in any area of cooperation. This is partly the aftermath of the pandemic, during which a larger number of employees were hired, as being locked at home was conducive to playing games.

Currently, there is also a slightly more cautious approach to engaging new candidates - mainly due to the verification of the quality and sales of previously created projects. And it's not just about the biggest players in the league, but also about smaller developers, whose situation also doesn't look the best. However, every cloud has a silver lining. Although more and more companies are reducing employment, game publishers or developers organizing production or marketing teams right now can pick and choose among the willing. Which does not change the fact that at least for the first quarter of 2024, the most sought after will be the best educated staff who have the most to offer to the employer. Why? Because the quality requirements of buyers are increasing.

Benefits of working in the video game industry

However, if you successfully pass the recruitment level and start playing further, getting to know the complexity and structure of the world around you (using industry nomenclature), it can only get better. The gaming industry offers employees reasonable (extra)salary benefits.

These can include private health care, insurance, free or partially subsidized courses, vouchers, company events or minor occasional gifts, although I have also heard about fuel allowances, unlimited fruit and coffee, food vouchers, as well as a four-day work week and other forms of incentive programs.

Working in the video game industry. Salaries and types of contracts

And since I'm already on the subject of salary, it's worth taking a simplified look at earnings in the gaming industry. These depend primarily on the size of the company, and in the case of publishers, on the number of games released and - obviously - on the position held.

In the first case (as results from research conducted by Artur Gańszyńca, published in May 2023) the collected data suggest that companies employing up to 50 people offer similar wage conditions, with a median salary of around 8.5 thousand zlotys. In the case of companies employing 51-120 people, the median is already 10 thousand zlotys, and in companies employing 120 or more people, the median reaches the level of 13.4 thousand zlotys. In terms of the number of titles in the publishing portfolio, it can be assumed that the highest salaries are offered by companies, which have released three or more games (median 11.3 thousand zlotys) or have not yet released any game (median 12 thousand zlotys). Companies that have released one or two games offer salaries with a median of about 8.5 thousand zlotys.

And what about contract forms? The data indicates that the highest earners are those who cooperate on a B2B basis, for whom the median earnings are 13 thousand PLN. In the case of an employment contract, the median is 9.9 thousand PLN, and for a contract for specific work - 7.6 thousand PLN. It is also worth noting that the higher the position in the company, the more sole proprietorships are pushing out employment contracts.

So, answering the questions from the beginning of the article, one can risk saying that with increasing professionalization, the requirements also increase. Both those related to experience and employer expectations. However, this does not mean that people taking their first steps in the industry are not welcome. Polish gamedev constantly needs new employees, because eventually the expected economic improvement will occur, which in turn should directly translate into an increase in spending on games, and indirectly into market sentiment and increased employment. Applying now, you won't offer much to employers. However, over time you will become specialists in an industry that never sleeps and gives a lot of satisfaction.