January 5, 2023

How Much Does Blizzard Pay Their Employees?

“How much do videogames developers make?” This question captures the interest of not only people who want to pursue their aspirations in this direction, but also those who are curious about how the gaming world works. Until recently, the salary was disclosed only during interviews before hiring. But, on January 1, a law came into force in California. It requires all state companies to list salaries in job descriptions. This led to numerous moments that you might find fascinating.

COMPANIES’ REACTIONS TOWARD THE NEW LAW

Many want to keep the exact numbers of the company a secret. Blizzard is one of them. They found a loophole in the latest rule and showed the full range of salaries instead of specific figures. Often the max values are almost twice the minimum. Hence, it’s nearly impossible to know precisely how much they pay their employees. But one way or another, you can roughly figure out each position’s numbers and compare them with other companies.

The journalist Jason Schreier looked at the job sites of several companies. His investigation includes Blizzard, Riot Games, EA, and Treyarch. He realized that they all use this approach when it comes to salaries. Some indicate ranges of total annual wages, and some show hourly. Significant gaps exist even within the same role’s fresher, junior, and senior.

HOW MUCH DOES BLIZZARD PAY THEIR EMPLOYEES?

To have a better understanding, let’s take a look at the currently open vacancies for World of Warcraft:

Junior game producers, senior PvP zone designers, editors, and battle designers can expect to earn from $29.81 to $55.14 per hour.
The server-side programmer is promised to be paid from $37.26 to $68.93 per hour.
Senior Open World Artist, Senior Level Designer, Senior Mission Designer – $80,800 to $149,400 per year.
A Community Outreach Specialist can get between $64,640 and $119,520 per year.
The salary ranges are the same for different vacancies, levels, and teams. So even comparing them with each other won’t work. It’s important to note that these are base values without various incentives and bonuses. So the total amount may be higher in reality.
All data is available on the official Blizzard website. But only for positions in California. In other regions, the values have yet to be indicated.