GameSoundCon

What specific skills are game companies looking for in their sound designers and composers? Or more precisely, what do their job postings say they want in a strong candidate?

We spent 3 months searching for and analyzing job postings across more than 200 individual game companies, major job aggregators as well as specialty boards such as soundlister, devbrada, WorkWithIndies, etc.

Over the 3-month period, we found 142 game audio jobs across 26 countries representing approximately 90 companies. We logged game specific keywords such as FMOD, Wwise, Reaper, as well expected duties. We also tracked salary ranges, where they were listed.

Among the findings:
● "Sound Designer" was the largest role family, representing almost two thirds of the jobs found

● Almost 40% of the postings were senior, principal, lead, director or other senior roles; the industry seems to be looking for people with experience.

● Music Composition roles -- as employees of companies-- are more common than many people think,. They frequently include sound design or other skills as well. Although composition was part of the job description in 11% of the jobs we found, "Music Composition" was listed as a desired skill in more than 25% of the postings.

● Music Designer, a relatively recent sub-discipline, has a notable increase in job postings compared with our 2024 analysis

● Wwise and "implementation" were the two most frequently listed general game audio skills, with Unreal, FMOD and Reaper also very common.

You can read the full report at:

Game Audio Jobs and Skills 2026: What Employers Are Looking For An analysis of 142 game-audio job postings, the roles employers are hiring for, and the skills that appear most often.Landing a Job in Game Audio: An Updated Look at the MarketWhat are game companies actually looking for when they hire a sound designer, composer, music designer, dialogue specialist,...

For people in the Greater LA area, Helix Collective will be performing music from today's best games, Sunday June 20th.

DM me for $5 off

GAME JAMS!
Music from today’s best games—live with Helix Collective

Saturday, June 20th, 2026
4pm & 7:30pm Shows
Mixer 5:30-7:30pm

Barnsdall Gallery Theatre
4800 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Free Parking in Barnsdall Art Park

Tickets $20

GAME JAMS Live video game music concert with Helix Collective

Just under 2 weeks to submit to speak at GameSoundCon 2026

Pro Tip: Put enough detail in your submission so we know what's in your talk, not just a teaser!

Submit at www.GameSoundCon.com/submissions

GameSoundCon 2026
Oct 20-21, 2026
Burbank, CA

Submissions | GameSoundCon Speaker Submissions Accepting submissions on topics in game music and sound design, virtual and augmented reality audio and game audio research & education

GameSoundCon Speaker Submissions are OPEN!

Submit to speak at GameSoundCon 2026.
Submissions are open through May 10.

www.GameSoundCon.com/submissions

GSC 2026 will be held Oct 20-21, 2026 at the Burbank Marriott Convention Center, Burbank, California

Submissions | GameSoundCon Speaker Submissions Accepting submissions on topics in game music and sound design, virtual and augmented reality audio and game audio research & education

Will we be seeing you at later this month? Our team will be on the Expo floor, and we've lined up a packed schedule of sessions in the Sunset Room!

Whether you're looking for an introduction to , ready to dive into dynamic mixing, or want to join conversations on haptics and audio accessibility, there's bound to be a session for you. Many include hands-on demos and Q&As!

🎮 Check out our full schedule for all the details: https://hubs.ly/Q03M9gJv0

GameSoundCon

Earlybird Registration for GameSoundCon ends TONIGHT, Sept 16!

Registration for Video Game Music and Sound Design Conference Registration for GameSoundCon Los Angeles

We have released the GameSoundCon Game Audio Industry Survey

How much to game composers make?
What's the proportion of freelancers to salaried employees?
What are common contract terms?
How are people using AI in game audio?

Since 2014, we've conducted a survey of game audio salaries, tools/tech, education, demographics and other stats.
A couple top level takeaways:
-- The has been a measurable trend towards outsourcing of audio by game companies
-- 16% of game audio employees said they had been laid off in the past 12 months; around half said they have found another job in game audio

For the full report, visit:

Game Audio Survey 2025 | gamesoundcon Game Music and Sound Design salaries, jobs, income, industry makeup, education and tools

The Game Audio Industry survey is open for just a couple more days!

If you work in game audio, please take a few minutes to complete our survey. It's anonymous, and covers issues from salaries and rates to tools and tech. New this year are questions on layoffs and AI.
The survey closes May 17

Industry Data: Game Music and Sound Design Survey Game Audio Survey data: How much do game music composers and sound designers make? Composing Conracts, Royalties

Take the Game Audio Industry Survey!

For the past 12 years, we have been tracking industry trends, salaries, tools/tech and other data on working in game audio.

Please help us by taking 5-7 minutes to fill out the survey.
The survey is anonymous, using SurveyMonkey's "Anonymous Survey" feature.

The survey is open through May 17, 2025.

Results will be posted this summer!

Industry Data: Game Music and Sound Design Survey Game Audio Survey data: How much do game music composers and sound designers make? Composing Conracts, Royalties