How To Become A Game Engineer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a game engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Craig Tidwell Ph.D.

To a lot of people, being a game engineer sounds like a dream job. A game engineer gets to spend their whole day thinking about video games. They design the programs that make the game run, they write the code that makes the game work, and they get to know about the latest amazing game before anybody else.

Just because the work of a game developer is fun doesn't mean that it isn't hard. The game developer needs to be an expert in a variety of coding languages to help make the game work, such as HTML, CSS, or Javascript. They also need to work with other teams, like graphic designers and scriptwriters, to make sure that the game functions smoothly.

Many people associate the video game industry with crunch time, when developers work for 30 hours straight, hunched over a computer nonstop. At the same time, it's true that some game developers are expected to work long hours, especially before a deadline, just as many work normal 40-hour workweeks.

What general advice would you give to a Game Engineer?

Craig Tidwell Ph.D.

Professor/Program Manager, Seminole State College of Florida

Students who are graduating with a degree in computer and information systems should focus on being lifelong learners. The most challenging, and sometimes frustrating, aspect of a career in information technology is that it is always changing. Employers are also looking for employees that can work well with others, especially in teams. Having a good understanding of the development and design process, and project management (DevOps) is a plus. Currently, there is a high demand for graduates with cloud and information security knowledge and skills.

ScoreGame EngineerUS Average

Salary

7.7

Avg. Salary $104,976

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

4.0

Growth Rate 21%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 31.27%

Black or African American 4.64%

Hispanic or Latino 8.41%

Unknown 4.86%

White 50.65%

Gender

female 3.49%

male 96.51%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress Level

4.0

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

7.9

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.6

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a game engineer

Explore game engineer education requirements

Most common game engineer degrees

Bachelor's

69.6 %

Master's

18.8 %

Associate

5.8 %

Start to develop specific game engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
Unity	14.09%
Python	11.75%
Game Engine	9.23%
Animation	8.78%
Java	7.87%

Complete relevant game engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New game engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a game engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real game engineer resumes.

Research game engineer duties and responsibilities

Manage Terraform and refactore from monolithic to application specific components.
Design and develop mobile and PC strategy F2P MMO in Java, PlayN, and Box2D.
Localize support web sites in JavaScript and PHP.
Full ownership of verifying and debugging the game.

Apply for game engineer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a game engineer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do game engineers rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

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1 Star

Game Engineer reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020

Cons

Nothing not doing my job