What is the difference between a game designer and a game developer?

The two fields of video game design and development are not that dissimilar. A game designer creates the idea for a video game, while a game developer makes it a reality. The former is concerned with how the game will appear and feel, whereas the latter is concerned with how the game will be programmed using coding.

Which country pays the highest salaries to the game designers and game developers?

The USA pays the most to game designers, with an average salary of 97,500 USD/year, while the UK pays the most to game developers, with an average salary of 68,893 USD/year.

Which countries are preferred by the international students to study game design and development?

The counties preferred by the international students to study game design and development are the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, etc.

Top Game Design & Development Universities in 2022-2023

Best Game Design & Development Colleges and Universities in the World

About Game Design and Development

The gaming industry is a mix of innovation and creativity. Video games have grown in popularity as a result of recent technical advancements, creating several job prospects for game designers and developers. A video game designer is responsible for coming up with novel ideas for games and creative portions of game production, whereas a developer is responsible for the actual coding and technical components of the game. Knowing more about the gaming industry can help you determine whether or not you want to pursue a career in it.

Roles of Game Designers and Developers

You should know what each job title entails before deciding if you want to be a game designer or a game developer.

Responsibilities of a Game Designer

Creating extensive depictions of the gaming concepts, such as the plot, characters, and gameplay
Organizing and collecting thoughts
Identifying the most promising game design concepts for production
Working closely with the developers and artists to ensure that the game design is followed
Honing in on the exact aspects of a game that allow it to function within the context of the entire game design
Choosing the right setting to assist players in immersing themselves in the game
Taking care of the foundation for the game’s story, characters, and inner workings

Responsibilities of a Game Developer

Building the video game from scratch under the guidance of the development team
Working along the lines of code to see how the computer will handle everything in the game, from the rules to the graphics
Assigning work and developing timetables for the programming team
Collaborating with other departments to discuss difficulties and find solutions along the development process
Developing reactions for computer-controlled players in the game using AI
Creating the tools that allow a game’s artwork to come to life

Popular degrees for pursuing a career in Game Design and Development

The number of institutions and universities offering courses in the field of game design and development is steadily increasing. Following are some of the popular courses in game design and development offered by prominent institutes in countries like the USA, the UK, Canada, and Australia.

Bachelor’s Programs

B.S. in Computer Science
B.S. in Computer Engineering
B.S. in Computer And Information Sciences
B.S. in Interactive Media and Game Development (IMGD)
B.S. in Computer Science and Game Development
B.S. in Game Designing and Development
B.S. in Computer Programming

Master’s Programs

M.Sc or M.S. in Computer Games
M.A. In Computer Games Development (Art)
M.A. in Games Design
M.S. in Game Development
M.Sc in Video Game Enterprise, Production, and Design
M.A. in Computer Games Art And Design
M.Sc in Computer Game Engineering
M.S. in Computer Systems Networking And Telecommunications
M.S. in Computer Engineering
M.S. in Human-Computer Interaction

Combined Bachelor’s/Master’s Degrees

Combined Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Degrees in game designing and development allow students to get both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree while gaining valuable hands-on experience in as few as five years of study. They are intended for extraordinary undergraduate students who have excelled academically and wish to save both time and money on their education.

Specializations in Game Design and Development

Gaming is the most popular form of entertainment in the twenty-first century, and the demand for game designers and developers is increasing. The following are some of the specializations available for people who want to make a career in game designing and development.

Computer graphics
Web development
AI and machine learning
Cloud computing
Computer interface
Modeling and sculpture
Programming languages (C++, Java)
3D animation
Audio foundation
Game theory and architecture
Game integration

Duration of programs in Game Design and Development

The duration of the game designing and development courses varies per university, but the following is a general timeline of courses provided by some top universities:

Country	Bachelor’s Degree	Master’s Degree	Combined Bachelor’s/Master’s Degrees
USA and Canada	4 years	1-2 years	2 years
UK	4 years	1-2 years	2 years
Australia	4 years	1-2 years	2 years

Career opportunities in Game Design and Development

Students used to look down on gaming as a legitimate career option, but that is changing thanks to the advancements and specialties available in this field. It is an ideal career for students who are passionate about gaming.

Career opportunities for game designers:

Lead designers
Level designers
System designers
Content designers
Technical designers
UI designers
Design director
Teaching and research

Career opportunities for game developers:

Lead programmer
2D/3D Game developer
AI programmer
Computer software engineer
Teaching and research

Average salaries for Game Designers and Developers

Salaries for game designers and developers are determined by a variety of criteria, including experience, skills, market conditions, and so on. The following is a list of the average salaries for game designers and developers:

Game Designers

Country	Average salary in USD/year
USA	97,500 (Source: Talent, USA)
Australia	93,982 (Source: Talent, Australia)
Canada	71,000 (Source: Talent, Canada)
UK	58,373 (Source: Talent, UK)

Game Developers

Country	Average salary in USD/year
USA	63,642 (Source: Talent, USA)
Australia	38,421 (Source: Payscale, Australia)
Canada	46,862 (Source: Talent, Canada)
UK	68,893 (Source: Talent, UK)

Top 50 Universities in the world for Game Design and Development based on rankings (EDU/QS/Shanghai):

EDU Ranking	QS Ranking	Shanghai Ranking	University	Country	Bachelor Programs	Master Programs
1	2	2	Stanford University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
2	1	1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	USA	Click Here	Click Here
3	52	17	University of Southern California	USA	Click Here	Click Here
4	15	36	University of Washington – Seattle	USA	Click Here	Click Here
5	401-450	301-400	Iowa State University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
6	3	4	Carnegie Mellon University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
7	84	20	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	USA	Click Here	Click Here
8	89	40	University of Wisconsin – Madison	USA	Click Here	Click Here
9	27	101-150	University of Tokyo	Japan	Click Here	Click Here
10	38	30	Georgia Institute of Technology	USA	Click Here	Click Here
11	23	33	University College London	UK	Click Here	Click Here
12	33	51-75	University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign	USA	Click Here	Click Here
13	351-400	201-300	University of Central Florida	USA	Click Here	Click Here
14	11	13	University of Toronto	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
15	201-250	201-300	University of Nottingham	UK	Click Here	Click Here
16	12	8	Nanyang Technological University	Singapore	Click Here	Click Here
17	9	51-75	Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne	Switzerland	Click Here	Click Here
18	201-250	201-300	University of Illinois at Chicago	USA	Click Here	Click Here
19	151-200	76-100	Rutgers University – New Brunswick	USA	Click Here	Click Here
20	136	101-150	Simon Fraser University	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
21	4	15	National University of Singapore	Singapore	Click Here	Click Here
22	16	39	Imperial College London	UK	Click Here	Click Here
23	72	101-150	Delft University of Technology	Netherlands	Click Here	Click Here
24	251-300	301-400	University of Rochester	USA	Click Here	Click Here
25	46	31	University of Michigan – Ann Arbor	USA	Click Here	Click Here
26	132	76-100	Michigan State University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
27	5	3	University of California – Berkeley	USA	Click Here	Click Here
28	69	76-100	Purdue University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
29	151-200	101-150	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
30	201-250	151-200	Indiana University – Bloomington	USA	Click Here	Click Here
31	109	51-75	University of Alberta	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
32	49	101-150	McGill University	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
33	25	51-75	University of British Columbia	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
34	117	151-200	Pennsylvania State University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
35	NA	NA	IT University of Copenhagen	Denmark	Click Here	Click Here
36	53	51-75	University of California-San Diego	USA	Click Here	Click Here
37	21	32	New York University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
38	7	7	Harvard University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
39	18	43	Columbia University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
40	47	19	Zhejiang University	China	Click Here	Click Here
41	17	10	University of California – Los Angeles	USA	Click Here	Click Here
42	111	101-150	University of California – Irvine	USA	Click Here	Click Here
43	201-250	101-150	University of Minnesota – Twin Cities	USA	Click Here	Click Here
44	151-200	301-400	University of Ottawa	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
45	251-300	201-300	North Carolina State University at Raleigh	USA	Click Here	Click Here
46	64	201-300	Eindhoven University of Technology	Netherlands	Click Here	Click Here
47	28	29	University of Texas at Austin	USA	Click Here	Click Here
48	151-200	201-300	University of California – Santa Barbara	USA	Click Here	Click Here
49	40	151-200	University of Amsterdam	Netherlands	Click Here	Click Here
50	33	76-100	University of Pennsylvania	USA	Click Here	Click Here

Top Universities in the USA for Game Design and Development:

EDU Ranking	QS Ranking	Shanghai Ranking	University	Country	Bachelor Programs	Master Programs
1	2	2	Stanford University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
2	1	1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	USA	Click Here	Click Here
3	52	17	University of Southern California	USA	Click Here	Click Here
4	15	36	University of Washington – Seattle	USA	Click Here	Click Here
5	401-450	301-400	Iowa State University	USA	Click Here	Click Here

Top Universities in Canada for Game Design and Development:

EDU Ranking	QS Ranking	Shanghai Ranking	University	Country	Bachelor Programs	Master Programs
14	11	13	University of Toronto	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
20	136	101-150	Simon Fraser University	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
31	109	51-75	University of Alberta	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
32	49	101-150	McGill University	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
33	25	51-75	University of British Columbia	Canada	Click Here	Click Here

Top Universities in the UK for Game Design and Development:

EDU Ranking	QS Ranking	Shanghai Ranking	University	Country	Bachelor Programs	Master Programs
11	23	33	University College London	UK	Click Here	Click Here
15	201-250	201-300	University of Nottingham	UK	Click Here	Click Here
22	16	39	Imperial College London	UK	Click Here	Click Here

Top Universities in the Netherlands for Game Design and Development:

EDU Ranking	QS Ranking	Shanghai Ranking	University	Country	Bachelor Programs	Master Programs
23	72	101-150	Delft University of Technology	Netherlands	Click Here	Click Here
46	64	201-300	Eindhoven University of Technology	Netherlands	Click Here	Click Here
49	40	151-200	University of Amsterdam	Netherlands	Click Here	Click Here

Admission requirements for studying Game Design and Development

The following are the eligibility requirements for admission to a bachelor’s or master’s degree in the field of game design and development as given by the top-performing universities around the world.

Bachelor’s Level

A high school diploma or equivalent with a GPA of 3.0 or more with science and mathematics as compulsory subjects
Transcripts
Good score in English language proficiency tests like IELTS and TOEFL (minimum score requirement varies from university to university)
Letter of Recommendation (LOR) from the principal, counselor, personal tutor, teachers, coaches, or supervisors
Statement of Purpose (SOP)
Valid passport

Master’s Level

A GPA of 3.0 or more in bachelor’s degree such as computer science or relevant field from a recognized university or college
Academic transcripts
GRE score of 290 or above
Good score in English language proficiency tests like IELTS and TOEFL minimum score requirement varies from university to university)
Letter of Recommendation (LOR)
Statement of Purpose (SOP)
Valid passport
Work experience of 2-3 years (preferred)
Internship experience (preferred)