We spent basically all of last year reporting on bad news for the gaming industry. We did the same thing the year before. Not that we enjoy doing it, of course; things are just in a bad way on so many levels. It's virtually guaranteed that there will be further waves of mass layoffs throughout 2026 as well, so brace yourself.
All of this is to say, it's always nice when we can talk about something positive instead. If you happen to be a Japanese game developer, then hopefully this applies to you as much as it does to nearly 80 percent of the industry's workforce over there.
Income increases, mobility in fashion
Japanese publication Game Makers published the information on Wednesday, and the good folks at Automaton West were quick to catch on. To address that, the information dropped on January 6th, and it pertains to CESA's survey of 339 Japanese developers – as well as students and teachers, where applicable.
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The research relates in part to the average annual household income compared to the previous year: $52,500 in conversions. Individual earnings, for the record, were slightly lower at $42,300 USD. (If any of this sounds low for such positions, it's worth noting that exact conversions are tricky, as relative living costs and general industry standards can be dramatically different around the world.
What stands out here is that 77.9 percent of the respondents claimed to have received salary increases from year to year. In addition, 55.2 percent of the respondents stated that they have changed employers at least once. While this may not sound like anything to write home about without context, it's important to note that in Japan it's a pretty high number. Traditionally, most employees stick with their company for decades, even their entire careers.
In fact, only 13.6 percent have spent six to nine years at their current company, while a comparatively high 36 percent have been with theirs for less than three years and another 26 percent, between three and six. It's good to see some positives here, and hopefully they'll continue when CESA publishes its next batch of annual results.
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