Salaries of Ukrainian game developers: analysis and trends

According to the gamedev.dou.ua portal, the game development market in Ukraine offers specialists different levels of remuneration depending on their specialization. Based on the data collected over the past six months, it can be stated that salaries in this area have undergone some fluctuations, but remain attractive to many professionals.

According to portal estimates, the average salary of GameDev specialists in the first half of 2023 was $1950, which is a slight decrease compared to the figure of 2022. Testers, whose analysis is considered one of the lowest paid specializations, have a median salary of $1300. However, it is worth noting that developers are the leaders with the highest salaries in this field, although their incomes are slightly lower than in other areas of IT.

Figures show that 92% of Ukrainian IT professionals working in the GameDev field stay in Ukraine, while 8% have experience abroad and are considering returning. The majority of specialists live in Kyiv (44%), and much less in other cities: Lviv (14%), Dnipro (7%), Kharkiv (5%), and Odesa (4%).

The dynamics of gender distribution in the industry is also important to note. 27% of GameDev specialists are women, which is the average for the Ukrainian IT sector. It is worth noting that women make up the largest percentage in HR, recruiting, and training (85%), but their contribution to game development is limited, accounting for only 9% of developers.

In terms of the age of professionals working in the game development industry, the average age remains at 28 years, which is slightly lower than in the general IT sector (29 years).

In terms of the employment structure in GameDev, developers (30%), testers (22%), designers and artists (16%) make up the largest share. A significant number of professionals work for product companies (58%), while about 30% work for outsourcing companies.

Despite certain fluctuations in salaries and some peculiarities of the work environment, it is important to note that the vast majority of GameDev professionals expressed satisfaction with their work and salary. This is confirmed by the indicator that 39% of respondents consider their work interesting, and another 21% consider it very interesting.

It is also worth noting that the median salary of GameDev specialists remains within $1950, but this field provides interesting opportunities for professional growth and development.