What’s It All About

The games industry creates, sells, and celebrates games in all their shapes and forms. There are many types of games, some which entertain, and others which educate, empower, or change how people think.

Video Games

Over 3 billion people around the world enjoy video games. That’s almost half the planet!

The most popular device for playing games is mobile, with 2.8 billion people (93%) enjoying games on their phone. About 1.4 billion (45%) of gamers play on PC, while 871 million (28%) have a games console. There are also many games played in web browsers and even smart watches.

The average player might not be who you think! In Western Europe, 50% of people aged 6–64 play video games. Among these, the average age is 31, and 48% are female.

Tabletop and Board Games

While many of us are familiar with ‘classic’ board games like Monopoly and Cluedo, the last 15 years have seen a ‘renaissance’ of new titles. There has never been a greater selection of beautiful, intriguing, and delightful games to share at a table with friends and family!

Collectible card games and role-playing games are also part of the games industry. Many game makers learn the craft of storytelling through years of playing games like Dungeons & Dragons with their friends.

Serious Games and Education

Games are also a special opportunity for players to discover an unfamiliar situation, or experience things as a different person. They are sometimes used to help people understand topics like inequality, discrimination, or to show how systems can perpetuate injustice.

UNESCO and Games4Change help to promote innovation and science supporting games that help people in various ways.

Together, these “games with a purpose” are known as “serious games”.

Fun commercial games can support learning too! Minecraft and Assassin’s Creed are popular games with official education packages which have been used in classrooms.

Immersive Technologies

Have you ever worn a Virtual Reality (VR) headset? If so, there’s a good chance it was manufactured by a games company.

Virtual Reality can also be used for non-games applications, such as remotely training surgeons, or even allowing someone to perform surgery from another country using a robot.

Augmented Reality (AR) is when a digital layer is added on top of the real world. One of the first popular AR games was Pokémon GO, which lets people play games in parks, shopping centres, and beaches. These games explore how game-like experiences can interact with daily life.

Gaming in Ireland

Game Development

Ireland first became involved in 1978 when Atari, based in Tipperary, produced arcade machines.

Since then, Ireland has become home to a small and growing industry with many small independent studios, and a handful of large ones with 20–100 employees. Dublin and Galway are the two biggest hubs for game development.

A list of Irish-made games and companies can be found by visiting IMIRT, the Irish Game Maker’s Association. IMIRT welcomes both hobbyists and professionals, and runs training workshops throughout the year to support skills and growth in the Irish game industry.

In 2021, the Irish Government approved a tax credit for video game development. This makes it more attractive for large studios and startups to develop new video games in Ireland. There are also a small number of local supports like the WRAP fund in Galway.

Middleware and Game Tech

Ireland has a long history of founding game tech companies. Some examples include:

• Havok developed a physics engine which has been used in over 300 video games.
• Demonware developed technology for managing online games with millions of players.
• Artomatix developed an AI tool which helps artists to create 2D and 3D art for games.
• W4 is headquartered in Ireland, and provides support for the open-source game engine Godot.

Customer Support, Marketing, and Localisation

A game publisher is a company which supports game studios with marketing, localisation, testing, and other services to help deliver their games. Ireland does not have game publishers of its own, but many publishers have a presence here.

Ireland is one of the most popular locations in Europe for US-based companies to run their customer support operations.

Top publishers like EA, Riot, and Activision-Blizzard have teams in Galway, Dublin, and Cork which provide multilingual support to their players across the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region.

There are also companies which cooperate with publishers and game studios around the world to provide these services, such as the Dublin-based company Keywords Studios. This is a great example of how language-learning can support a career in game development.

Content Creation and Esports

The majority of today’s gamers don’t just play games; they also watch video game content! Tiktok, YouTube, Twitch, and other services allow anybody to share their passion for games with others, either as a hobby or a profession.

A popular source of content is ‘esports’, which is when video games are played competitively in a structured format. This can involve tournaments or ongoing leagues, where esport athletes compete in video games for prize money. Esports is a dynamic industry with lots of opportunities to find a career and develop skills.

Some cities around the world attract a lot of global tourism through esports! These include Katowice in Poland, Jönköping in Sweden, and Shanghai in China.

Munster Rugby is an example of an Irish sports club which has fielded an esports team competing in League of Legends. Also, Europe’s first esports research lab is based in the University of Limerick.

Games in Europe

There are over 100,000 people working in the games industry in the EU. The UK has the largest game industry in Europe, followed by France and Poland. Sweden and Finland are known for their very profitable game companies.

Over 550 educational institutions in the EU offer courses in game development, so there are many opportunities to study abroad in English or a European language. The UK also has many universities running courses relating to esports.

Many European universities also research games. There are a number of conferences and networks which explore how games impact society, and how games can improve education or well-being for players.

Working Environment

The games industry is a vibrant space where people from many disciplines work together to create one-of-a-kind creative projects.

Choosing a Studio

The game industry also has a wide range of opportunities. While there are exceptions, most studios fit into an approximate category based on their team size and budget:

1. Hobbyist — an individual or team which makes games for fun. They have little or no budget, and may use tools within existing games like Roblox or Minecraft. This is a great way to build up a portfolio.
2. Solo developer — a team led by one person, sometimes with external helpers or contractors. The budget is small, and the individual needs a broad range of skills to manage their business and marketing as well as making games. Many board game designers are solo developers.
3. Indie studio — a small team of 2-20 people, which might specialise in a particular type of game, or serving a niche audience.
4. Triple-I or Double-A — a medium company with 20–100 people, with a budget of tens of millions.
5. Triple-A — a large company with over 100 people working on a single game. The production budget will be hundreds of millions, and will involve many international partners.

Each category will offer a different working environment. At a small company, each person might have more autonomy and creative freedom, while at a large company there may be more opportunities for specialist roles.

All of the above are supported by contractors, who work independently and bring their skills and expertise to a company to help with a specific project.

The benefits

• Creative expression — creating a product which impacts and enriches peoples’ lives can be very fulfilling, especially if a game is successful enough to find an audience of fans.
• Dynamic teams — creating games involves working across disciplines, which can lead to an exciting environment with fresh challenges.
• Lifelong learning — the games industry moves fast, and continually reinvents itself with new technologies and ideas. If a cutting-edge technology or technique doesn’t exist yet for a game, often the games industry will invent it!
• Cultural fit — most people who work in the industry are gamers, and enjoy serving an audience of gamers. The dress code is casual, and colleagues often have shared hobbies and interests.

The downsides

• Lower pay — many people who work in games are driven by passion, and will accept a lower salary than other industries. This means that a programmer will usually earn significantly less working in games than in a typical tech company.
• Long hours — some game studios have a culture of pushing their employees to work long hours, while under pressure to meet tight deadlines. This can last for months, and causes many people to leave the industry.
• Project cancellation — games are vulnerable to production delays and complications. A studio may have to cancel a project, or even shut itself down if money runs out or market conditions change. When a game is cancelled, the people who worked on it usually can’t share any details about the project.
• Job insecurity — when a studio finishes a game, there can be layoffs because the next project does not need as many people, or because sales did not meet expectations. The game industry does not have strong unions in most countries

Skills and Knowledge

A successful game is a combination of design, implementation, project management, marketing, business development, luck, and more! The game industry requires an ability to work with and understand people in many disciplines.

Training and Courses

In the game industry, a strong portfolio and practical experience is more valuable than a degree. If you want to work in a game studio, the best way is to start making games!

One way to build a portfolio is by taking a dedicated course in game development or game design. These are a great opportunity to sample a number of disciplines in game development, practice working in a team, and add several finished games to your portfolio.

Note that while these courses may allow a lot of flexibility, it is advised to graduate with at least one key skill or competency that is valued by employers. Otherwise, it may be difficult to secure a first job and 'break into' the industry.

Another option is to do a course in another discipline. For example, Fine Art, Creative Writing, Audio Engineering, or Computer Science would all give a strong grounding in their respective subject, which can later transition into games with a portfolio, internship, or a conversion course.

In the UK, 81% of game industry workers have a QQI Level 8 equivalent qualification, which is higher than the 57% average in the UK for cultural and creative industries (like film or animation).

A wide range of free and paid resources for learning to make games can be found online. Many of the top industry talks are available for free in the GDC Vault.

These are great for individual learning, gathering industry knowledge, and building a portfolio. However, without an experienced mentor to guide your learning, it may be easy to get lost.

Career Progression

For most roles in game development, there is a clear path of career progression which generally depends on years of experience.

• A Junior role is entry-level, new to the industry and with lots of potential.
• A Mid role has several years of experience, and is now a capable communicator and problem-solver. They are able to document their processes, and can work across departments.
• A Senior role understands project management, mentoring, and reviews the work of others. They can be relied upon for good decision-making.

Someone who enters the game industry from another industry might make a faster progression, while someone who works for a long time on smaller-scope games might progress slowly.

After climbing the ladder from Junior to Senior over 6–10 years, an industry professional might continue to grow in one of these directions:

...by sharpening their skills in a specific area:

• A Principal role is individually very skilled in a specific area. This might be an excellent 3D Character Artist, Localisation specialist, or Engine Programmer.
• An Expert is someone who has become so good at what they do, that they are almost irreplaceable within the games industry. They push the industry forward at the cutting edge of technology and creativity.

...or by working with people:

• A Lead role is about working with people at a larger scale, coordinating their creative and technical efforts to ensure everything runs smoothly. This might be the next step for a great Audio Designer, QA Tester, or Marketer.
• A Director sets the vision for the team in their particular field, and is the ultimate decision-maker responsible for a large portion of the project. They are not expected to be at the top in their field — their job is to be brilliant at directing others.

Alternatively, there might be an opportunity to join a company's leadership:

• The C-Suite covers the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and other roles which manage the operation of the business and its financing.

There is no "right answer". As the game industry constantly evolves, there will be ongoing growth and challenges in any role. These are simply different ways to add value to a company.

Alternative Roles

As a massive global industry, there are many opportunities to find a career which overlaps with games. Outside of design and development, there are roles in marketing, recruitment, human resources, public relations, community management, business development, journalism, and law.

In any game studio, somebody needs to take on a Producer role. This involves both project management and domain knowledge, and is essential to keep each team functional. It is normal to have around 1 Producer for every 7-10 staff.

Games with a large budget sometimes involve experts from other fields to bring a unique quality to their games:

• Culture experts like historians and linguists can contribute to making game worlds and environments more authentic.
• Psychologists are involved with analysing player behaviour and motivations, to help shape how players behave in games and in online spaces.
• Economists have been brought in to model game economies and suggest improvements to business models.
• Academics research a variety of topics, including games as a cultural phenomenon and how the industry can improve.

Further resources

• IMIRT represents the Irish game industry. Its website lists local developers and Irish-made games.
• The UK website IntoGames shares information about games careers.
• Microsoft has a guide to game industry careers.
• The jobs website Hitmarker also shares useful advice.
• CareersPortal has a subsector about Esports.

As well as gaming, there are multiple pathways to join the IT sector where there are skills shortages. These options include;

• FIT Tech Apprenticeships where you learn and earn, are open to school leavers or those who wish to upskill or retrain. Further information available here.
• ICT Skillnet offers free and subsidised training, part-time & online, in critical technology skills. Further information available here.
• Springboard Courses offer free and heavily subsidised courses, including ICT skills conversion courses, to address skills shortages. Further information is available here.
• Further information on careers in Data Centres is available here.
• Further information on careers in Cybersecurity is available here.

Employment in ICT has increased by a third in Ireland to a new high of 174,000. Growth in highly skilled software development and systems analysts’ jobs have contributed to much of this growth. Any of the routes described above will give you the opportunity to work in this dynamic, thriving sector which offers excellent opportunities for career advancement.