Also called: Games UX Researcher, Playtest Researcher
Studies how players experience a game through playtests, surveys, and data.
A games user researcher runs a playtest with 20 players, watches where they get confused, analyzes heat maps, and tells designers what to fix.
Game industry pay estimates (no single BLS category); big studios pay more but layoffs have been frequent since 2023.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Master's degree, about 6 years after high school. Psychology or human-computer interaction background; many have master's degrees.
Ways in: Graduate school, 4-year college. Training cost: $60k – $150k.
Majors to look at: Psychology, Human-Computer Interaction.
Growing about average. Valued at large studios.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI analyzes surveys and telemetry faster; running playtests and understanding players stays human.
Classes: Psychology, AP Statistics, Computer science, English.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-3039.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.