Narrative Designer Salary for 2027

Narrative Designer Salary in 60 Seconds

• The closest federal figure is $76,910. Writers and authors earned that median in May 2025, or $36.98 an hour. The middle half earned $58,230 to $101,950 and the top 10% over $139,870. Compare a first game writing job with the median and the 25th percentile, not the mean. Pay Range ›
• Design-heavy roles are counted at $104,000. Story and character work is a task of video game designers, whose median is $27,090 above the writer figure. A role that owns quest structure and branching logic is design work. A role that mainly delivers dialogue and item text is writing work. Which Figure Fits ›
• Contract pay isn't in the survey. The 10th percentile was $44,310 and the 25th was $58,230. Contract pay isn't in the survey, so put an hourly rate beside the $36.98 median and remember a contractor pays for software and health coverage. A salaried offer can beat a higher rate. Starting Salary ›
• Washington, DC pays the most at $129,300. Maryland follows at $104,330, then Connecticut at $98,460. California employs the most writers, 8,390, at a median of $86,480. New York has about 7,480 writers, but BLS publishes no median there. State Pay ›
• Scripting in an engine moves you up. The top 10% earned over $139,870, mostly senior and lead roles that own a project's story. Owning quest structure and scripting moves you toward the designer median. Software developers had a median of $135,980, which is $59,070 above writers. Raising Your Pay ›
• Writer employment is projected to shrink 0.3%. Jobs fall from 140,300 to 139,900 by 2035, while all occupations grow 3.5%. BLS still expects about 11,900 openings a year. Hiring follows story-heavy projects, so a low-cost degree and a portfolio of finished interactive writing is the practical answer. Job Outlook ›

Heads up Narrative designers sit between two federal occupations, writers at $76,910 and designers at $104,000, so which figure applies depends on whether the job is mostly writing or mostly design.

The range

How Much Narrative Designers Make

Writers and authors earned a national median of $76,910 a year, 1.5 times the $50,980 median for all jobs. The middle half earned between $58,230 and $101,950. The hourly median was $36.98.

Lowest 10%

$44,310

$21.31/hr

25th percentile

$58,230

$28.00/hr

Median

$76,910

$36.98/hr

75th percentile

$101,950

$49.01/hr

Top 10%

$139,870

$67.25/hr

The range is wide. The lowest-paid 10% earned under $44,310 and the top 10% over $139,870, so the top of the occupation earns 3.2 times what the bottom earns. The mean was $86,090, $9,180 above the median, which tells you a group of high earners pulls the average up. A first game writing job should be compared with the median and the 25th percentile, not with the mean.

BLS counts about 47,940 salaried writers and authors. Freelancers and the self-employed aren't in the wage survey, which matters more here than for most game jobs, because much writing work is contract work.

Reading the Percentiles for a Narrative Career

Treat the 10th and 25th percentiles, $44,310 and $58,230, as the pay of people early in a writing career or in smaller markets. Treat the median as a settled salaried writer, and the 75th percentile, $101,950, and above as senior and lead roles. BLS doesn't publish how pay changes with experience, so this is a reading of the spread and not a federal finding. It fits how narrative teams are built: a lead who owns the story, a few writers who own questlines and characters, and contract writers brought in for volume.

What's counted

Which Workers the Narrative Pay Figure Covers

Narrative designers are a very small part of this occupation. The sample job titles O*NET lists for writers and authors are advertising copywriter, advertising writer, author, content marketing writer, copywriter and similar roles, and its first listed task is to "write fiction or nonfiction prose, such as short stories, novels, biographies, articles, descriptive or critical analyses, and essays." Game studios are in there, but they don't set the median.

The job also has a design side, and that side is counted somewhere else. O*NET lists storyline and character work as a task of video game designers, who are counted with web and digital interface designers at a median of $104,000, $27,090 above the writer figure. A role that owns quest structure, branching logic and scripting is doing design work, and the video game designer salary page has that occupation's figures. A role that mainly delivers dialogue, barks and item text is doing writing work, and this page is the better match. The narrative designer career guide explains how the two halves of the job fit together.

Matching an Offer to the Right Figure

Job titles won't settle it, because studios use narrative designer, game writer and quest designer loosely. Read the responsibilities instead. If the role builds quest logic in the engine, sets the conditions that decide which line plays, and sits in design reviews, compare the offer with the designer figure. If it delivers dialogue, barks, item text and lore to someone else's structure, compare it with the writer figure on this page. If a role mixes the two, the honest range runs from $76,910 to $104,000 at the median.

Starting out

Narrative Designer Starting Salary

BLS doesn't publish pay by experience, so this is an estimate read from the percentiles, not a federal entry-level figure. The 10th percentile for writers and authors was $44,310 and the 25th was $58,230, or $21.31 and $28.00 an hour.

Contract work is hard to price against these figures, because the survey counts employees on a payroll and contract pay isn't in it. If you're quoted an hourly rate, put it next to the $36.98 hourly median, then remember that a contractor pays for their own equipment, software, health coverage and the weeks between contracts out of that rate. A salaried offer in the 25th-percentile range can be worth more than a higher contract rate once those are counted.

Comparing Your First Offer

Ask three things before you compare numbers. Is the role salaried or paid by the hour or by the word? Is it a fixed-length contract, and what happens when the project ships? Does it include health coverage? A permanent junior writer role near $58,230 is a different thing from a six-month contract at a higher rate. The first credit on a shipped game also counts for a lot in this field, because every later application is judged on shipped work.

By state

Top-Paying States for Narrative Designers

District of Columbia has the highest published median for writers and authors, $129,300, then Maryland at $104,330 and Connecticut at $98,460. The lowest is Arkansas, at $47,970, a gap of $81,330. BLS publishes a median for 43 of the 50 states and DC.

These are medians for every kind of writer, and none of the tables separates game studios. The medians also aren't adjusted for living costs, so a high median in an expensive state can buy less than a lower one elsewhere. Use the table to judge an offer in a given state, not to pick where to move.

By metro

Top-Paying Metro Areas for Writers and Narrative Designers

BLS publishes a writer median for 122 metro areas. Waterbury-Shelton, CT heads the list at $127,350, but BLS counts only 50 writers there. Small metros can top a pay list on a handful of jobs. Among metros with at least 1,000 writers, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV pays the most, at $108,460 across 2,060 jobs.

The jobs

Where Narrative Design and Writing Jobs Are

The states that pay the most aren't the states with the most jobs. California employs 8,390 writers and authors, about 18% of the national total, at a median of $86,480. Florida and Illinois come next. New York also has about 7,480 writers, but BLS publishes no median there, so it doesn't appear in the pay tables.

By metro, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN has the most counted jobs, 2,120, followed by Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV and Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL. The concentration column shows where writing is a bigger share of local work than it is nationally, which is where you'll find more employers and more people to learn from.

For a narrative job search, read the two lists together. A large job market means more employers in the occupation. A high median helps only if a studio there is hiring narrative staff. Neither table tracks game studios, so check which studios in a metro make story-heavy games before you count it as a game writing market.

Comparison

Narrative Designer Pay Compared With Related Game Careers

At $76,910, the writer median sits below the occupations most game jobs are counted in. The occupations that count game developers and game testers had medians of $135,980 and $104,300. Of the game jobs compared here, only concept artists had a lower median, at $55,490. Each card shows the median for the occupation that counts that job.

• Salary Video game designer salary $104,000 median (web and digital interface designers) See the pay data ›
• Salary Level designer salary $104,000 median (web and digital interface designers) See the pay data ›
• Salary Game developer salary $135,980 median (software developers) See the pay data ›
• Salary Game tester salary $104,300 median (software quality assurance analysts and testers) See the pay data ›
• Salary Animator salary $102,030 median (special effects artists and animators) See the pay data ›
• Salary 3D artist salary $102,030 median (special effects artists and animators) See the pay data ›
• Salary Technical artist salary $102,030 median (special effects artists and animators) See the pay data ›
• Salary Game producer salary $90,360 median (producers and directors) See the pay data ›
• Salary Concept artist salary $55,490 median (fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators) See the pay data ›

Getting paid more

How Narrative Designers Earn More

The data points to three levers. The first is the spread inside the occupation: the top 10% of writers earned over $139,870, $62,960 above the median. Those are mostly senior and lead roles, and in games that means owning the story of a whole project and reviewing other writers' work. O*NET's task list says what the job rewards at every level: writers "revise written material to meet personal standards and to satisfy needs of clients, publishers, directors, or producers."

The second is the design side of the job. The designer occupation's median is $27,090 higher than the writer median, and narrative designers who own quest structure, branching logic and engine scripting are doing work that occupation counts. Learning to script and test your own dialogue in an engine moves you toward that side. Software developers, where game programmers are counted, had a median of $135,980, $59,070 above writers, which shows what technical skill is worth in the same studios.

The third is location. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, the best-paying large writing market, had a median of $108,460, and District of Columbia tops the state list. Neither figure is adjusted for living costs or separates game writing from other writing, so a move helps only if a studio there is hiring narrative staff or you'd take other writing work too.

Outlook

Job Outlook for Narrative Designers

BLS projects employment of writers and authors to shrink 0.3% between 2025 and 2035, from 140,300 to 139,900 jobs, while all occupations grow 3.5%. It still expects about 11,900 openings a year, 8.5% of current jobs, almost all from people retiring or leaving the occupation. The projection counts self-employed writers, and the wage survey counts only employees, which is why the two job counts are so far apart.

For comparison, BLS projects 6% growth for web and digital interface designers, the occupation the design side of the job falls under. Neither projection is about games. Dedicated narrative roles cluster at studios making role-playing, adventure and other story-heavy games, so hiring rises and falls with those projects. A low-cost degree and a portfolio of finished interactive writing are the practical answer to a flat outlook, and the narrative designer career guide covers how people get hired.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

How Much Do Narrative Designers Make?

The closest federal figure is a median of $76,910 a year for writers and authors, from BLS May 2025. The middle half earned $58,230 to $101,950, and the top 10% over $139,870. BLS has no narrative designer occupation and doesn't track game pay on its own, so this covers copywriters, content writers and authors, most of them outside games. A role that owns quest design and scripting may be counted with designers instead, at $104,000. See the full pay range.

Why Are There Two Salary Figures for Narrative Designers?

Because the job sits between two federal occupations. O*NET lists storyline and character work as a task of video game designers, counted with web and digital interface designers at a median of $104,000. The writing side is counted with writers and authors, at $76,910. That's a $27,090 gap, both in BLS May 2025. Which one fits depends on the work, so read the job description and compare an offer against the matching figure. See who each figure covers.

What Is the Starting Salary for a Narrative Designer?

BLS doesn't publish pay by experience, so the low end of the range is the best guide. For writers and authors, the lowest-paid 10% earned under $44,310 and the lowest quarter under $58,230 in BLS May 2025, or about $21.31 to $28.00 an hour. That's an estimate read from percentiles, not a federal entry-level figure. It covers the whole occupation, and freelance writers aren't in the survey at all. See starting pay.

Where Do Narrative Designers Make the Most Money?

District of Columbia has the highest published median for writers and authors, $129,300, followed by Maryland at $104,330 and Connecticut at $98,460. California has the most jobs, about 18% of the national total, at a median of $86,480. These figures aren't adjusted for living costs and cover every kind of writer, so the top-paying state isn't automatically the best place to look for game work. See the state table.

Is Narrative Design a Growing Career?

Not by BLS's projection for writers and authors, which expects jobs to shrink 0.3% from 2025 to 2035, against 3.5% growth for all jobs. It still expects about 11,900 openings a year as people retire or change careers. BLS doesn't project game writing separately, and story-heavy studios hire in waves, so the games share of those openings is small and uneven. See the job outlook.

Do Narrative Designers Need a Degree?

No rule requires one, but most writers have one. In O*NET's survey of writers and authors, 74% said a new hire needs a bachelor's degree. Studios read your samples first: a playable branching story, a quest document and a dialogue sample count for more than the name of your major. Writing, creative writing and game design degrees all lead to the job. The narrative designer career guide compares the routes.

Keep exploring

Related Pages

• Ranking Best Game Design Schools 89 ranked · Bachelor's See the ranking ›
• Career Video game designer career $104,000 median · +6% jobs to 2035 (web and digital interface designers) Read the career guide ›
• Career Level designer career $104,000 median · +6% jobs to 2035 (web and digital interface designers) Read the career guide ›
• Guide Is Game Design a Good Career? Pay, outlook, competition and degree cost, laid out honestly. Read the guide ›
• Ranking Best Online Game Design Degrees 13 confirmed online · Online See the ranking ›
• Ranking Most Affordable Game Design Schools 81 ranked · Lowest cost See the ranking ›

All rankings ›All states ›All cities ›

Sources

1. 1 BLS, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: 27-3043 Writers and Authors National and state wages and employment, and the 15-1255 and 15-1252 medians used for comparison. Accessed October 13, 2026.
2. 2 BLS, OEWS May 2025 all-data file Metro-area wages and employment, and national hourly percentiles. Accessed October 13, 2026.
3. 3 BLS, Employment Projections 2025-35 Projected employment change and openings, and the median wage for all occupations. Accessed October 13, 2026.
4. 4 O*NET OnLine, 27-3043.00 Writers and Authors Sample job titles, tasks and the education survey. Accessed October 13, 2026.