While many of us may want to get into the gaming space for creative reasons and purposes, it’s a fact of life that you can’t really do the job long-term if you’re not getting paid well for it. That applies to all countries where these kinds of jobs exist, and you honestly have to wonder what people are getting paid in places like Japan for their efforts. Thankfully, thanks to SalesNow, we have that answer. According to them, Sony is the No.1 place to go for a yearly paycheck in the gaming industry, with Nintendo being No.3.
You can see the full top ten below, but there’s more going on here than just that. According to the report, Sony offers their Japan-based employees about $75,000 a year, with Bandai Namco Holdings offering $74,000 and Nintendo offering $65,000.
Top Game Developer Yearly Income (Average) in Japan:1) Sony2) Bandai Namco Holdings3) Nintendo4) Sega5) Akatsuki6) DeNA7) Capcom8) Koei TecmoThis is based on salaries between June 2024 and June 2025Source: SalesNownintendoeverything.com/nintendo-inc…
— Stealth40k (@stealth40k.bsky.social) 2025-07-28T18:55:40.867Z
So, clearly, they’re getting paid well to develop games, and that shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, given that both companies are incredibly successful in the gaming space right now, especially compared to their “rival” from America in Microsoft, which just had massive layoffs and is in the midst of many “transitions” within its gaming branch.
