What Kind of Esports Jobs & Gaming Careers Are There?
The rapid development of the video game industry has brought a tidal wave of careers in gaming and esports. In this article, we are going to explore the gaming jobs that are available on the market and touch upon how to get into the esports industry.
Jobs in the video game industry can be roughly divided into technical jobs, business jobs, and esports jobs. In other words, if you’re looking to enter a career in video games, you’ve got a lot of options. Let’s get started.
Technical Gaming Careers
Technical gaming industry jobs revolve around the technical aspects of games – the look and feel, characters, animation, sounds, etc. – and involve the following positions:
Video game designer – This is one of the most popular and competitive gaming industry jobs. A video game designer creates the game concept and designs the environment for interaction among players. Some of the typical tasks include the development of character biographies, storylines, role play mechanics, missions, puzzles, challenges, etc.
Software developer – A software developer in the gaming industry works closely with designers to convert their ideas into code and ensure the seamless performance of the video game. This position also requires experience with video games as a player, in order to have a solid understanding of the game structure and working principles.
Animation engineer – Video game animation engineers visualize the concepts behind the video game prototype. They create the series of elements that form the images in a video game, including the characters and the environment. In other words, they bring the game to life.
Video game quality assurance engineer – This position involves playing the game and making sure that everything works correctly. As in any software development workflow, a video game QA reports all detected bugs to the programmers so that they are fixed in a timely manner.
Audio engineer – An audio engineer is responsible for creation and recording of all sounds in a video game, including the main soundtrack, background music, voices of characters, and sound effects such as shooting.
Writer – There are several types of writing jobs in gaming. Game content writers create scripts and stories as well as write speeches for the characters and dialogues between them. Technical writers are responsible for the game documentation and instructions. In some cases, they also write and edit the user interface texts and labels.
Translator, localizer – If the game is going to conquer the international market, it should be translated into the languages of target countries and adapted to the culture of those countries. It other words, it needs to be localized. Translators and localizers ensure that each and every written and spoken word of the game is correctly represented by means of a foreign language.
Technical support engineer – In case of problems or bugs within the game, the players can report those issues to technical support via chat, email, or phone.
Business Video Game Industry Jobs
Business-related jobs in the gaming industry are related to promotion of the game and typically involve at least video game marketing.
Market researcher – The purpose of this position is to collect data that helps decide which products and services to sell, where and how to sell them, and how much to charge for them. The researchers conduct surveys among potential buyers in order to define their buying preferences and habits.
Marketing manager – A marketing manager in the video game industry is responsible for advertising campaigns that promote the game to consumers.
Sales representative – A sales representative is responsible for selling the video game to retailers or wholesalers on behalf of the publishers. A sales rep should have a deep knowledge about the products, the potential customers, and the video game industry in general.
Producer – A game producer should know all the financial details involved in developing the game and preparing it to be marketed to the target audience. They are also responsible for the budget.
Esports Careers
Jobs in esports typically revolve around professional gaming tournaments and include the following positions:
Esports athlete – An esports athlete is a professional gamer who signs a contract with an esports league team and participates in tournaments. A pro gamer should have extensive experience with the chosen game and train since childhood.
Most of the gamers started early and achieved great results. For example, Sumail Hassan, an 18-year old Dota 2 Player, earned $2,712,139.14 in 2015, according to Esportsearnings.com statistics. However, not every play will have such a lucrative career. Esports and professional gamer salaries have quite a wide range.
One of the ways of to get into esports is participating in an esports summer camp. JKCP offers such summer camps for young players, with the age limits of 10-13 and 14-18. During the camp, the young gamers will work with professional gamers who will support them on their way into an esports career in disciplines such as Dota 2, Overwatch, Starcraft, and Rocket League. At the end of the trainings, the teams will compete against each other in a final tournament.
Esports coach – Like any other sport, esports teams also have coaches. These are professional players who ended their careers as athletes and are willing to share their experience with the beginners as well as help them reach new heights.
An esports coach should keep pace with any changes in the game, analyze the tournaments to get ideas, identify the strengths and weaknesses of their players, and develop strategies. The coach can also monitor the health of players and suggest specific workouts, because esports involves a constant sitting position that can be harmful to the players and thus impact their performances.
Esports team manager – A team manager leads and motivates the team. They are responsible for the interaction of team members between each other. They also ensure a good atmosphere within the team, because these people spend a lot of time together and any conflict can affect the productivity.
Esports team owner – The team owner is responsible for the budget of the team and negotiations with the sponsors.
Sales and marketing specialist – A sales and marketing specialist in the gaming industry is responsible for merchandise of brands that invest into esports teams. The most known esports sponsors are Intel, BenQ, Red Bull, Monster Energy, Coca Cola, and Audi.
Event manager – This position belongs to the realm of esports arena jobs. The duties of an event manager include searching for the tournament venues, planning the events, organizing the live broadcasting, and much more.
Streamer – Many pro gamers broadcast their gaming exploits online via the Twitch streaming service or another streaming platform to gain additional income.
What Video Game or Esports Career Suits You?
As you can see, there are plenty of careers in esports and gaming to choose from. If you love gaming, then you have a unique chance to pursue a career in the gaming industry.
JKCP summer camps and programs give up and comers a great opportunity to get started, and if you have a passion for gaming, we know you’ll be able to to take it to the next level. We wish you good luck!
