Can You Really Get Paid To Test Video Games?
Working in video game testing can be a great way to make money if you have the right skills, but do companies really pay people to test video games? The answer is yes!
Video game testing jobs are available all over the world, and there's never been a better time to get into the industry. The market for video game testing is growing every year; the industry was estimated to be worth $8 billion in 2015.
But despite this, the industry still has a bad reputation of churning out employees who do not have any technical skills. This is all wrong! The video game testing industry offers tremendous opportunities for those looking to make a career in the gaming world.
At first, when I started working as a tester, I thought it was nothing more than finding bugs in games done by other people, and simply sitting in front of a computer with a headset on until it popped up while I was reviewing.
After a few months, I realized that my job was far more unique and different than what I thought. A lot of the games that I tested had complex programming and systems that were very difficult to understand.
In order to test these complicated games, all I had to do was learn how to use the software by watching YouTube tutorials and asking questions on forums. This approach proved extremely useful for me as it helped me understand what it takes in order for a game to work, and why certain things happen in certain situations.
After a year, I decided it was time for me to move on from testing games because of the large pay gap between testers and other types of software testers. The average salary of a software tester is around $42,000 per year. On the other hand, testing video games can pay up to $70,000 per year.
There are several reasons why this huge gap exists between testers and game developers, but at the end of the day it all comes down to how effectively video games are tested by those involved in their development.
Not all testers are equal and there's no better way to prove this than to speak with some of them who have held positions within video game testing companies for years.
I spoke to many current testers who have worked various roles within the industry. They've helped with testing, software and hardware setup, done QA and done other things that people in their position typically do. Each person I spoke to has one thing in common: they've all been doing it for years and have valuable insight into what the video game testing industry is like.
I wanted to know why they decided to get into the industry, what skills they needed or the best way to break into testing games and how things are different now compared to when they started working in this field. Here is what I learned:
1. It's all about communication. If a company is doing well, they'll give you work. If they're not doing well, they'll let you go. This is no different than any other job out there. The best way to break in is to have connections who can help you get work and show you what the video game testing industry is all about.
2. It has more to do with art than technology. The way video games are programmed has changed very little in the past 20 years; it's still filled with bugs and features that don't work properly. It's the game testers job to find those things, report them and get them fixed. This can be very time-consuming and tedious, but it does pay well.
3. There's a lot of variety in what you do. Some days you'll be doing simple things like playing a level of a game or testing out new features that were recently added. Some days you'll be doing more complicated stuff like testing out AI, making sure enemies are doing the right thing or that a battle plays smoothly without crashing the system or freezing up.
4. It's not just about sitting at a computer all day long reviewing games; it requires a lot of on-site work as well. If a game's developers are working on new features or fixing bugs in the game, testers will have to be on-site to test those things out because of the potential for bugs that can occur during live testing. You'll have to be on-site for meetings, play testing and other things that require you to be physically at the office.
5. The work is very repetitive but rewarding. Testers spend most of their time playing games and reviewing them; there's not much variety in what they do. It would be similar to going through every video game guide you've ever read on how to make a good video game.
6. It's a lot of fun. The gaming industry is massive and it's filled with passionate people who love what they do. Testers can work on games that they love and gain access to exclusive pre-release games before anyone else in the world.
7. Pay is based on experience, location, work completed and game titles tested on. Testers will earn anywhere from $30,000 to over $70,000 per year based on those factors alone; it all depends on the quality of your work and how many products you tested in a year.
8. Advice for those looking to get into the industry (especially if you're having trouble finding work). The best way to get into the industry is to start small and build your experience up. Don't come into this thinking that you're going to be making a lot of money right away; it will take time, hard work and dedication as with any job.
9. The top software testing companies are: Blizzard Entertainment, Gearbox Software, Electronic Arts and Behaviour Interactive. These companies offer testers a great environment and plenty of work opportunities in various areas within game testing such as: UI & UX, graphics programming, multiplayer programming, bug tracking and more.
10. The top hardware testing companies are: Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, Apple and Google. These companies offer testers a great environment and plenty of work opportunities in various areas within game testing such as: design, quality assurance, software compatibility, manufacturing and more.
11. Testers who specialize in certain languages tend to earn more money than those who don't. The best programming languages to learn are C++, Java and PHP but there is a lot of other languages being used as well such as Objective-C, C#, Ruby on Rails and Flash to name a few..
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Conclusion
All of the testers I spoke to had a lot of passion for the industry and expressed how much fun they had working within the video game testing industry. The passion is what keeps testers coming back for more when there's no work. And it's also what keeps them looking for new work within their skillsets because many successful companies are always looking to hire quality software testers.
I think the reason why video game testing pays well is that those who do want to get into this field will put in just as much hard work as those who have been doing it for years and are more experienced than others who are just starting out.