How to become a video game designer
Official title: Video game designer
Also called: Game creator, Gaming designer, Gaming developer, Game designer, Level designer, Game artist, Game animator
Video game designers plan and create the look, stories, characters and rules of electronic games for computers, mobiles and gaming consoles.
Main tasks
- Design video game features
- Develop video game rules, characters and storylines
- Test and improve gameplay
- Write design and gameplay documents
- Test software performance
- Work with others on large projects
- Organise project data
- Adapt games to different consoles and devices
How to become one
You need experience to become a video game designer and a qualification may be useful. You usually need NCEA Level 3 to do the study or training for this job. Required: experience in similar work. Other requirements: a bachelor's degree in multimedia computing, software engineering and computer science, graphics and design or similar area; an advanced certificate or diploma in multimedia computing, graphics and design or similar area.
Ways in
- University: Communications & Media degrees, Offered by 4 universities in New Zealand
- University: Computing & IT degrees, Offered by 6 universities in New Zealand
- University: Creative Arts & Design degrees, Offered by 6 universities in New Zealand
Pay · Past change
- Most common pay: $61,000 to $114,000 a year (median $82,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
- Upper: $150,000 a year
- TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
- Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Strong increase (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
Who does this work
- About 370 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
Related jobs
- Human factors specialist
- Set and exhibit designer
- Graphic designer
- Web designer
- Industrial designer
- Fashion designer
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Questions people ask
How do I become a video game designer?
You need experience to become a video game designer and a qualification may be useful. You usually need NCEA Level 3 to do the study or training for this job. Required: experience in similar work. Other requirements: a bachelor's degree in multimedia computing, software engineering and computer science, graphics and design or similar area; an advanced certificate or diploma in multimedia computing, graphics and design or similar area.
How much does a video game designer earn in New Zealand?
The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $82,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $61,000 to $114,000 a year.
Has the number of people working as a video game designer grown in New Zealand?
It has grown strongly: TEC records a strong increase in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.
Sources
- Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.
Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.
This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.
Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.
These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Updated 4 October 2026