Nearly 40,000 Americans working in game industry, says new study

A new study from the CMP Game Group has determined that there are more than 39,700 professionals developing or publishing games across the US and 8100 within Canada.

More than 46 per cent of people creating games within the United States are based in California, with the next highest concentration of game professionals in Washington State, at nearly 12 per cent, and Texas, at just over 7 per cent.

Seven states, including New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, and Florida, have more than 1000 game professionals working in them. These numbers do not include persons working in public relations, marketing, legal, and other game-related service industries.

âThe game industry has long been asking for a census to better understand just how many people are creating games professionally in North America, and as the organisation behind Game Developer magazine, Gamasutra.com and the Game Developers Conference, the CMP Game Group felt that it was our responsibility to use our expertise to establish an accurate view of its size,â said CMP's Simon Carless.

âIt is our hope that the Census and the information it provides can also help build the game business by connecting contractors and service providers with developers and publishers.â

The inaugural census report from the CMP Game Group's game developer research division lists nearly 600 companies across the US and Canada.