On this page
- Game Producer Salary in 60 Seconds
- How Much Game Producers Make
- Game Producer Starting Salary
- Top-Paying States for Game Producers
- Top-Paying Metro Areas for Game Producers
- Where the Game Producer Jobs Are
- Game Producer Pay Compared With Related Game Careers
- How to Earn More as a Game Producer
- Job Outlook for Game Producers
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Related Pages
- Sources
Game Producer Salary in 60 Seconds
- The middle half earns $62,670 to $134,800. Producers and directors earned a national median of $90,360 in May 2025, or $43.44 an hour. The top 10% earned over $198,540. Most of those workers are in film and TV, so use the figure as a frame for an offer rather than a studio pay scale. Pay Range ›
- Entry offers sit near the 25th percentile. BLS doesn't tie its percentiles to titles, so read an associate producer or coordinator offer against the 25th, which is $62,670. The gap from there to the median is $27,690. Starting Out ›
- California pays the most at $129,790. New Jersey follows at $119,840, then New York at $107,550. California holds 34,110 of the jobs, and the lowest state median is Arkansas at $38,820. These medians reflect film, TV and news production in big media markets as much as games. State Pay ›
- Game producers earn less than most game roles. The $90,360 producer median is below game testers at $104,300, game designers at $104,000 and game developers at $135,980. It is above writers and authors, where narrative designers are counted, at $76,910. Related Careers ›
- Seniority and city move pay most. The 75th percentile is $44,440 above the median, which the page reads as senior and executive producers who own a project's budget and staffing. Los Angeles and San Francisco medians are $131,600 and $130,640. Raising Your Pay ›
- Producer jobs are projected to grow 4%. From 2025 to 2035 BLS projects jobs rising from 181,000 to 188,300, a little faster than the 3.5% for all occupations. About 12,100 openings a year are expected, mostly from retirements and career changes, and they span film, TV and games. Job Outlook ›
Heads up The pay data is mostly film and broadcast. BLS counts game producers with all producers and directors, and does not track game studio pay separately.
How Much Game Producers Make
Producers and directors earned a national median of $90,360 in May 2025, or $43.44 an hour. The middle half earned between $62,670 and $134,800. The lowest-paid 10% earned under $45,780 and the top 10% over $198,540, so the top of the range is 4.3 times the bottom.
- Lowest 10%
- $45,780
- $22.01/hr
- 25th percentile
- $62,670
- $30.13/hr
- Median
- $90,360
- $43.44/hr
- 75th percentile
- $134,800
- $64.81/hr
- Top 10%
- $198,540
- $95.45/hr
The mean was $113,300, which is $22,940 above the median. That gap comes from the top of the range: the 90th percentile sits $108,180 above the median, while the 10th sits only $44,580 below it. A small group of very well-paid executive producers and directors pulls the average up. For a game producer, the median is the number to plan around, and the mean describes almost nobody's first offer.
Why the Figure Is Mostly Film and TV
BLS counts producers in one occupation with directors, covering about 143,120 salaried workers. O*NET's sample job titles for it include News Producer, Radio Producer, Television News Producer, and its listed tasks are about shots, scripts, actors and crews. A game producer's work is schedules, scope, budgets and keeping a team of designers, programmers and artists moving, which O*NET lists for video game designers as "Create and manage documentation, production schedules, prototyping goals, and communication plans in collaboration with production staff." So this page reads a film and broadcast pay figure for a job that sits inside a software team. The game producer career guide covers the job itself.
Starting outGame Producer Starting Salary
BLS doesn't publish pay by experience. The low end of the range is the best stand-in for a first salaried producing job, and this is an estimate read from the percentiles, not a federal starting salary. The 10th percentile was $45,780 ($22.01 an hour) and the 25th was $62,670 ($30.13 an hour). The 10th percentile is below the $50,980 median for all jobs, so the bottom of this range is a modest wage.
BLS doesn't tie its percentiles to job titles, so an associate producer or production coordinator offer is best read against the 10th and 25th percentiles. The gap from the 25th percentile to the median is $27,690. That's a reading of the spread, not a federal figure for a promotion. The game producer career guide covers the routes in.
By stateTop-Paying States for Game Producers
California has the highest published median for producers and directors, $129,790, then New Jersey at $119,840 and New York at $107,550. The lowest is Arkansas, at $38,820, so the state medians are $90,970 apart.
| State | Median | Middle half | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | $129,790 | $83,110 to $172,410 | 34,110 |
| New Jersey | $119,840 | $78,120 to $161,550 | 2,970 |
| New York | $107,550 | $79,700 to $169,260 | 27,990 |
| District of Columbia | $104,270 | $82,580 to $133,180 | 2,640 |
| Connecticut | $88,260 | $63,030 to $138,850 | 2,200 |
| Oregon | $87,460 | $60,260 to $123,320 | 1,640 |
| Rhode Island | $84,250 | $58,050 to $98,910 | 560 |
| Washington | $81,550 | $62,760 to $128,030 | 2,270 |
| Illinois | $81,080 | $58,790 to $106,320 | 3,170 |
| Massachusetts | $80,970 | $60,220 to $105,940 | 3,440 |
The top of this list is set by film, television and news production in big media markets, not by game studios. New Jersey pays well but had 2,970 producers and directors, against 34,110 in California. None of these medians is adjusted for living costs, so read a high figure next to the rent in the same place.
By metroTop-Paying Metro Areas for Game Producers
Los Angeles leads the metro areas at $131,600, then San Francisco at $130,640 and Trenton at $110,190. BLS publishes a median for 214 metro areas for this occupation.
| Metro area | Median | Middle half | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $131,600 | $82,960 to $172,570 | 21,910 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $130,640 | $96,170 to $187,990 | 5,030 |
| Trenton-Princeton, NJ | $110,190 | $78,230 to $152,610 | 190 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $108,460 | $80,960 to $169,990 | 27,020 |
| Waterbury-Shelton, CT | $102,340 | $63,030 to $139,040 | 860 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $100,270 | $78,580 to $127,890 | 4,230 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | $100,060 | $80,010 to $134,180 | 620 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $99,520 | $70,710 to $133,090 | 990 |
| Salem, OR | $98,900 | $60,390 to $123,020 | 50 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $97,360 | $71,280 to $130,110 | 470 |
Small metros can rank high on a few hundred workers, so check the employed column before you read much into a place near the top. In Los Angeles, the top 10% of producers and directors earned over $325,310, which shows how far film and television pay stretches the high end there.
Job searchWhere the Game Producer Jobs Are
Pay and job count are different lists. California and New York hold about 43% of the country's producers and directors, and the next largest state, Florida, has 7,160.
| State | Employed | Median | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 34,110 | $129,790 | $83,110 to $172,410 |
| New York | 27,990 | $107,550 | $79,700 to $169,260 |
| Florida | 7,160 | $79,920 | $62,360 to $109,670 |
| Texas | 6,610 | $71,710 | $49,020 to $99,100 |
| Georgia | 5,010 | $79,950 | $64,540 to $125,780 |
| Pennsylvania | 4,200 | $75,460 | $55,040 to $100,290 |
| North Carolina | 3,500 | $63,700 | $40,230 to $88,430 |
| Massachusetts | 3,440 | $80,970 | $60,220 to $105,940 |
| Illinois | 3,170 | $81,080 | $58,790 to $106,320 |
| New Jersey | 2,970 | $119,840 | $78,120 to $161,550 |
By metro, New York and Los Angeles together employ about 34% of the occupation. Producers and directors are 3.8 times as common in Los Angeles's workforce as in the country as a whole.
| Metro area | Employed | Per 1,000 jobs | Concentration | Median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 27,020 | 2.85 | 3.09 | $108,460 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 21,910 | 3.49 | 3.80 | $131,600 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 5,030 | 2.12 | 2.30 | $130,640 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 4,230 | 1.35 | 1.47 | $100,270 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 3,840 | 1.33 | 1.44 | $79,950 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | 3,020 | 1.07 | 1.16 | $87,980 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 2,640 | 0.98 | 1.06 | $83,850 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 2,590 | 0.57 | 0.62 | $85,040 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 2,330 | 0.58 | 0.63 | $77,260 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 1,910 | 0.66 | 0.72 | $79,070 |
For a game producer job search, these lists say where producing work of any kind is concentrated, which is mostly where film, television and news are made. Game production jobs follow game studios, and a metro with many producers may have few game teams. Use the tables to see what local producing pay looks like, then check which studios in that city are hiring producers or coordinators.
ComparisonGame Producer Pay Compared With Related Game Careers
The $90,360 producer median is below the medians of the occupations that count game designers ($104,000), game testers ($104,300), animators ($102,030) and game developers ($135,980). It's above writers and authors, where narrative designers are counted, at $76,910, and fine artists and illustrators, where concept artists are counted, at $55,490. Each card below opens the salary page for one game job and the occupation that counts it.
- Salary Video game designer salary $104,000 median (web and digital interface designers)
- Salary Level designer salary $104,000 median (web and digital interface designers)
- Salary Narrative designer salary $76,910 median (writers and authors)
- Salary Game developer salary $135,980 median (software developers)
- Salary Game tester salary $104,300 median (software quality assurance analysts and testers)
- Salary Animator salary $102,030 median (special effects artists and animators)
- Salary 3D artist salary $102,030 median (special effects artists and animators)
- Salary Technical artist salary $102,030 median (special effects artists and animators)
- Salary Concept artist salary $55,490 median (fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators)
The medians hide how far producer pay stretches. The top 10% of producers and directors earn over $198,540, which is $16,130 short of the $214,670 90th percentile for software developers, a much smaller gap than between the two medians. The game design salaries hub compares every game job side by side.
Getting paid moreHow to Earn More as a Game Producer
Three things in the data move a producer's pay. The first is level. The 75th percentile is $44,440 above the median. BLS doesn't tie pay to titles, but the way production teams are built suggests reading the upper percentiles as senior and executive producers, who own a whole project's budget and staffing. That's a reading of the spread, not a federal finding.
The second is place. Los Angeles and San Francisco have the highest metro medians, at $131,600 and $130,640, against $90,360 nationally. Both are expensive places to live, and the medians aren't adjusted for that, so a smaller raise in a cheaper city can leave you with more.
The third is the kind of work. Software developers, the occupation game programmers are counted in, had a median of $135,980, which is $45,620 above producers and directors. That gap is a measure of what technical skills are paid across the economy, not a promise that a producer who learns to code earns it. The game developer salary page has the full developer range.
Reading a Studio Offer Against These Figures
Put an offer next to the percentiles first, then next to the state and metro tables. An associate producer offer near $62,670 sits at the 25th percentile nationally, which fits the reading of the low percentiles as entry roles in the starting salary section. An offer for a full producer title well under the median is worth questioning, unless the studio is in a state where the whole occupation is paid less. Ask whether the role is salaried or a fixed-term contract, because the wage survey counts employees on a payroll and contract rates aren't in it. Ask about the review cycle and the title too, since the step from the median to the 75th percentile is $44,440, and BLS doesn't say which titles sit there.
OutlookJob Outlook for Game Producers
BLS projects employment of producers and directors to grow 4% between 2025 and 2035, from 181,000 to 188,300 jobs. That's a little faster than the 3.5% growth projected for all occupations. The projections count self-employed workers, which is why the base is larger than the wage survey's 143,120.
BLS expects about 12,100 openings a year, or 6.7% of the occupation's jobs, and most of them come from people retiring or moving to other work. Those openings span film, television, radio, stage and games, and BLS doesn't project game production on its own. Production skills do travel, since scheduling, risk tracking and running mixed teams are wanted wherever software gets built.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Much Does a Game Producer Make?
The closest federal figure for a game producer is the $90,360 national median BLS reported for producers and directors in May 2025. The middle half of that occupation earned $62,670 to $134,800, and the mean was $113,300. BLS doesn't track game-industry pay separately, and producers and directors work mostly in film, television and broadcast, so read the figure as a frame for an offer and not as game studio pay. See the full pay range.
What Is the Starting Salary for a Game Producer?
BLS doesn't publish pay by experience, so the low percentiles are the best guide: the lowest-paid 10% of producers and directors earned under $45,780 and the lowest quarter under $62,670 in May 2025. That's an estimate read from the spread, not a federal starting salary, and it sits well below the national median of $90,360. The game producer career guide covers the routes into the job.
Where Do Game Producers Make the Most Money?
California has the highest state median for producers and directors, $129,790, followed by New Jersey at $119,840 and New York at $107,550. Among metro areas, Los Angeles leads at $131,600. Those numbers reflect film, TV and news production as much as games, and they aren't adjusted for living costs, so a higher median in an expensive city may buy less. See the top-paying states.
Do Game Producers Make More Than Game Designers?
Not by the federal figures. Producers and directors had a median of $90,360 in May 2025, while web and digital interface designers, the occupation game designers are counted in, had $104,000. Software developers were at $135,980. Each number covers a whole occupation across every industry, so it says little about how one studio pays its producers against its designers. Senior and executive producers can earn far more than the median. See how the game jobs compare.
Do Game Producers Need a Degree?
Most do have one, but no rule requires it. In O*NET's survey of producers and directors, 57% said a new hire needs a bachelor's degree. That survey covers film and broadcast producers, so treat it as a general read on producing. Game studios hire producers mostly on their record of keeping a team on schedule, and a game design or development degree helps by teaching how each discipline works. See what to study for game production.
What Is the Job Outlook for Game Producers?
BLS projects employment of producers and directors to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, a little faster than the 3.5% for all occupations, with about 12,100 openings a year. BLS doesn't project game production separately, and the openings span film, television, radio, stage and games. Most of those openings come from people retiring or leaving the occupation, not from new jobs. See the full outlook.
Sources
- 1 BLS, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: 27-2012 Producers and Directors National and state wages and employment. Accessed .
- 2 BLS, OEWS May 2025 all-data file Metro area wages, employment, location quotients and national hourly percentiles. Accessed .
- 3 BLS, Employment Projections 2025-35 Projected employment change, openings, and the median wage for all occupations. Accessed .
- 4 O*NET OnLine, 27-2012.00 Producers and Directors Sample job titles, tasks and education survey. Accessed .
- 5 O*NET OnLine, 15-1255.01 Video Game Designers The production task quoted on this page. Accessed .