North American game audio professionals earn more in than their peers across the world

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According to a new report, the average salary of North American game composers and sound designers is $57,000 higher than their counterparts in the rest of the world.


This data is per the GameSoundCon Game Audio Industry Survey 2023, with a sample size of 602 working professionals.


North American game composers and sound designers earn an average of $128,500 annually. By comparison, their counterparts in the rest of the world make $71,300.


Meanwhile, freelancers in North America make $81,000 for game music and sound design. The yearly earnings average for freelancing audio professionals is $48,200 for the rest of the world.


The report also says that in North America, male salaried game audio designers earn, on average, $18,586 more than their female and nonbinary peers.


Regarding the survey’s respondents by race, 75% were white/Caucasian, 9% Hispanic/Latino, 7% Asian, 3% multiracial, 3% other, 2% Black, and 1% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.


Meanwhile, by gender, the surveyed audio professionals were 86% male, 12% female, and 3% nonbinary.