Croner Software Games Survey - International - The Croner Company

The Croner Software Games Survey-International is the benchmark survey of the entertainment software industry for video gaming jobs globally. This leading-edge report provides compensation data for jobs in all gaming platform types — including mobile, social, console, PC, handheld, MMO, cloud gaming, virtual reality and casino games.  Major industry players and emerging companies rely upon the Survey results to benchmark compensation, how to pay video gaming jobs – including salary differentials, pay levels, bonus plans and equity plans.

The Croner Software Games Survey-International began in 2007 as a supplement in the Croner Software Games Survey – North America for U.S.-based companies with positions internationally. In 2018, it was launched as a separate annual video game compensation survey capturing data on positions located outside of the U.S and Canada regardless of company headquarter location.  The survey results have included robust data on positions in the U.K., along with selected data for selected countries in Europe, Scandinavia and Asia.

The 2020 Croner Software Games Survey – International Report of Results provides compensation data from 24 companies in the U.K., China, Finland, France, Germany, Spain and Sweden for 186 individual positions in the seven countries, along with 76 positions rolled up by level within job family category and 46 positions rolled up by organization level.

2020 Croner Software Games Position Grids

Sample Position Data – Game Designer

Participant Companies
 

2020 Participant Companies

China
CCP Games
Electronic Arts Inc.
Epic Games, Inc.
King.com Ltd.
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
Wargaming.net
WarnerMedia, LLC

Finland
Electronic Arts Inc.
Epic Games, Inc.
Redhill Games Ltd.
Ubisoft International
Zynga Inc.

France
Electronic Arts Inc.
Epic Games, Inc.
Redhill Games Ltd.
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
Voodoo
Wargaming.net

Germany
Cloud Imperium Games Limited
Electronic Arts Inc.
Epic Games, Inc.
King.com Ltd.
Niantic, Inc.
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
Tencent America LLC
Ubisoft International
Voodoo
Wargaming.net

Spain
Electronic Arts Inc.
Epic Games, Inc.
King.com Ltd.
Scopely, Inc.
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
Voodoo

Sweden
Electronic Arts Inc.
Epic Games, Inc.
King.com Ltd.
Redhill Games Ltd.
Ubisoft International

UK
CCP Games
Cloud Imperium Games Limited
Electronic Arts Inc.
Epic Games, Inc.
Frontier Development plc
King.com Ltd.
Miniclip SA
Niantic, Inc.
Playground Games Limited
Scopely, Inc.
SEGA Europe Ltd.
Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe Limited
Space Ape Games (UK) Ltd.
Square Enix, Inc.
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
Tencent America LLC
Ubisoft International
Voodoo
Wargaming.net
WarnerMedia LLC
Zynga Inc.

Position Grids & Job Families Reported
 

To view a pdf of the complete list of individual positions surveyed, by job family and by level, click here: 2020 Croner Software Games Position Grids

Job Families:
Senior Management
Studio Management
Line of Business Management
Production Management
Product Development - Creative
Producing
Live Ops Producing
Monetization
Product Management
Technical Product Management
Game Directing
Systems Design
Game Design
Technical Game Design
Economy Game Design
Level Layout Design
Mathematics
Writing / Story
Narrative Design
Dialogue
Sound / Audio
Composing
Software Engineering
Art
Technical Art
Concept Art
Effects Art
Lighting
User Experience Design
User Interface / User Experience Art
User Interface Engineering
Animation
Technical Animation
Art Outsourcing Management
Artist Management
Video Editing
Localization
Technology and Infrastructure
Server Engineering
Platform Engineering
Database Engineering
DevOps Engineering
Engine Software Engineering
Tools Software Engineering
Security Engineering
Release Engineering
Release Management
Technical Writing
Digital Assets Management
Quality Assurance
Quality Assurance Engineering
Quality Assurance Analysis
Quality Assurance Testing
Mastering Lab
Customer Support
In-Game Support
Operations
Operations Generalist
Marketing
Brand Marketing
Product Marketing
Digital Marketing
Customer Relations Marketing
Community
Community Architecture
User Acquisition
Channel Marketing
Influencer Marketing
Creative Services
Creative Services - Graphics / Marketing Multimedia
Creative Services - Writing
Creative Services - Project Management
Public Relations
Trade Show / Events
Esports
Esports League Operations
Esports Player Relations
Esports Shoutcasting
Esports Events / Productions
Data and Analytics
Market Research
User Experience / Usability Research
Business Competitive Research
Gameplay Analytics
Data Science
Data Analytics
Business Intelligence Engineering
Website
Website Development
Business Development
Licensing
Sales and Marketing Management
Sales Management
Field Sales - Regional
Field Sales - National
Advertising Sales
Programmatic Sales
Sales Analysis
Sales Administration
Account Management
Sales Marketing
Advertising Operations
Legal Services
Information Technology
Finance
Accounting
Finance - Royalty Accounting
Human Resources
Recruiting
Technical Recruiting
Internal Communications
Social Responsibility (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion)
Learning and Development
Outsourcing Administration

Position Data Collected and Reported
 

To view sample position data, please click here:
Sample Position Data - Game Designer

The Compensation Data Report covers the following compensation elements for each position:

  •     Number of Incumbents Reported
  •     Number of Companies with Match
  •     Geographic Composition
  •     FLSA Status
  •     Total Average Supervised
  •     Incentive Plan Elgibility
  •     Incentive Plan Type
  •     LTI Elgibility
  •     LTI Awards Received
  •     Base Salary
  •     Target Total Cash Compensation
  •     Actual Total Cash Compensation
  •     Actual Cash Awards as % of Base Salary
  •     Annualized NPV of LTI Awards
  •     Total Direct Compensation
  •     Paired Comparison Position Match Analysis for Base Salary, Actual Total Cash Compensation and Total Direct Compensation
  •     Differentials of average pay between organization levels by job family category

Data Cuts Reported Where Applicable:

Platform
Console
PC
Cloud Gaming
Mobile
MMOG
Social Networks
Handheld Devices
Casino Games
Virtual Reality

Business Model
Publisher with Studios
Publisher / Developer
Studio
Developer
Other

Specialty / Scope Categories report compensation by specialty or scope for select positions where there is sufficient data,for elements such as revenue size and headcount of studio for general managers, manage staff or function for manager and director levels, software engineering specialties, status of university degree for associate levels and size of geographic area for sales positions.

Geographic Composition Categories - United Kingdom Region reports the percent of incumbents working either in the London area or outside of London.

Tools for Analysis (provided in separate tabs in Compensation Data Results Excel workbook):

  • Data Observations
  • Methodology and Terminology
  • Paired Comparision: Position Match Analysis
  • Titles Matched
     

Policy Data Collected and Reported
 

The Full Report of Results covers Policies and Practices, including the following sections:

Participant Profile

  • Participants
  • Ownership and Business Model Overview
  • Work Force Size

Short-Term Incentive Plans

  • Prevalence of Short-Term Incentive Plans
  • Short-Term Incentive Plan Eligibility
  • Types of Short-Term Incentive Plans

Product Development-specific Incentive Plans

  • Prevalence of Product Development Positions
  • Prevalence of Product Development Incentive Plans
  • Product Development Incentive Plan Eligibility

Dealer / Distributor Sales Plans

  • Prevalence of Sales Positions
  • Prevalence of Incentive Plans for Sales Positions

Long-term Incentive Plans

  • Ownership Categories for Long-Term Incentive Plan Analysis
  • Prevalence of Long-Term Incentive Plans
  • Long-Term Incentive Plan Eligibility
  • Long-Term Incentive Plan Eligibility by Organization Level
  • Same Plan(s) to All Eligible or Different Plans by Organization Level
  • Time-Based and Performance-Based Plans by Organization Level

 

Participation Fees
 

Participation Fee

The 2021 Participation Fee is $5,500 USD.

Purchase by a Non-participant of the Current Published Report - International Survey
 By signing a Participation Agreement for the 2021 Survey and paying a 50% non-refundable deposit toward the 2021 participation fee, a company may purchase the current published Survey data (2020 Report of Results) without having participated in the survey.

The 2020 Results are available for purchase for $10,000, plus a non-refundable 50% deposit of $2,750 towards the 2021 participation fee.  Total payment due to receive data is $12,750.

 

Survey Schedule
 

Survey Planning Meeting: May 20, 2021
Questionnaire Distribution: Mid July
Data Effective Date: July 1
Completion Deadline: September 15
Full Report of Results Published: Late December

 

Confidentiality
 

The Croner Company conducts this Survey as an independent third party to ensure the confidentiality and consistency of the data provided. All data are held in strict confidence and are reported only in summary form. No attribution is made to any specific data from any participating companies. The Croner Company aggregates data using DOJ "Safe Harbor Guidelines" to ensure full regulatory compliance of the Survey report. Survey reports are distributed only to participants and all participants are required to sign an agreement that confirms they will abide by our confidentiality standards.

Register to Participate
 

To register your company for participation in this Survey or to ask questions about participation, please contact us at +1-415-485-5521 or info@croner.biz.