Also called: Tabletop Game Designer
Invents board games, card games, and tabletop RPGs.
Designers prototype games with paper and dice, playtest hundreds of times, tweak rules, and pitch to publishers or launch on Kickstarter.
Many designers earn royalties; full-time salaries exist at publishers.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 2 years after high school. Self-taught or game design degree.
Ways in: Self-taught, 4-year college. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Game Design, Mathematics, Graphic Design.
Growing about average. No separate BLS projection; estimate based on related occupations.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. AI speeds prototype art and rules drafts, but designing fun mechanics and playtesting with real people stay human.
Classes: Math/probability, Art, Creative writing, Business.
Official data: O*NET occupation 27-1029.
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.