Video Game Industry Workforce Up 13% in North America

We all know that video game sales in 2008 have been phenomenal, but it's not just the market that's growing – the industry itself continues to expand with more talent. According to the second annual census from Think Services' Game Developer Research, there's been a 12 percent year-on-year increase in U.S. employees. America currently has 44,400 working in the game industry, up from 39,700 in 2007.

In Canada there has been a 17 percent increase, with total employees numbering 9,500, up from 8,100 last year. Overall, the North American game industry has increased in size by 13 percent, from 47,800 to 53,900 staffers.

Importantly, this census estimate doesn't even include employees of game tools companies, game contracting/services companies, external PR, marketing, legal, and other business services, and liaison or licensing divisions at larger media companies. This group could potentially represent another 18,000 across North America.

The report attributes some of the growth in North America to a "filling-out of major next-gen game staffing" in addition to the continued growth of MMOs and virtual worlds. "Thanks to the success of products such as World of Warcraft and a continued growth in free-to-play game worlds, venture capital funding into game-related online companies has increased significantly," noted Game Developer.

Furthermore, the current economic downturn has yet to really affect jobs in the games industry. "While the effects of the current financial crisis and credit crunch could manifest itself in the longer-term, there are no current signs of it in the aggregate numbers of people employed in game-related sectors," the report stated.

The game industry in the U.S. continues to be very much driven by California; 48 percent (around 21,200) of U.S. game industry employees are based in California. Washington, home to Nintendo and Microsoft, is the second most-popular state for game employment, with over 4,700 employees, and Texas is third with 3,300. There are also seven states (California, Washington, Texas, New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, and Florida) that have more than 1,000 game professionals, and North Carolina and Maryland are "close behind."

The full 170-page report is available for purchase ($2,495) at the official website.