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Devs would rather work for Valve than go indie, IGDA finds
Given an open field, developers in the gaming industry would most want to work at Valve, according to the 2014 Developer Satisfaction Survey conducted by the IGDA. The IGDA surveyed more than 2,200 developers to gather the top 10 most desirable employers in the gaming industry. Valve tops the list, followed by "my own company," Activision Blizzard, BioWare, Ubisoft and "current employer." According to these results, the desire to go independent is alive and well in the industry, trumped only by what we assume is a deep need to know the status of Half-Life 3. See the complete list in the below press release.
IGDA: Number of women in industry rising, still under half
Women compose 22 percent of the gaming industry, up from 11.5 percent in 2009, the 2014 IGDA Developer Satisfaction Survey reports. Men make up 76 percent of the industry, while 2 percent of respondents identified as transgender or "other." "Men still dominate the industry," the IGDA says. Game industry respondents worked for an average of four different employers in the past five years, and nearly half of all developers earn less than $50,000 annually; 19 percent earn more than $100,000 annually. The average respondent has been in the industry for nine years and has worked on 16 projects. When these developers leave the industry, 39 percent of the time it's to find a better quality of life. Fifteen percent of respondents say they leave because they're burned out. "Similar to the findings in the 2009 survey, respondents say they feel they need to work more hours than are specifically required or expected," the report says. Fifty-three percent of respondents say "crunch" is not a necessary aspect of game development, and 37 percent report they receive no extra compensation for working a crunch schedule. See the visual breakdown of these numbers below. [Images: IGDA]
