{"id":4234,"date":"2025-06-25T04:14:01","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T08:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wholetomato.com\/blog\/?p=4234"},"modified":"2025-12-13T08:42:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T12:42:15","slug":"get-a-job-as-a-game-developer-skills-insider-advice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wholetomato.com\/blog\/get-a-job-as-a-game-developer-skills-insider-advice\/","title":{"rendered":"How to get a job as a game developer in 2025 \u2013 Part 2: Insider advice from a studio game director"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last time, we shared some general tips about what <\/span>skills and tools you need to get a job as a game developer in 2025<\/span><\/a>. However, the game development industry is a dynamic and rapidly evolving field. It\u2019s characterized by technological advancements and continuous innovation, and as we find in this article, subjected to external factors such as financial and industrial pressures.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you want an edge over the competition, it\u2019s important to get timely and accurate information about what game studios and teams are looking for now. Bonus points if you can get advice from someone who\u2019s doing the actual hiring!<\/span><\/p>\n

If that\u2019s what you\u2019re looking for, then you\u2019re in luck today. That\u2019s exactly what we have in store for you today. We had a chat with a game director that has had multiple years in the industry and has been involved with a lot of hiring decisions.<\/span><\/p>\n

About the interviewee<\/span><\/h2>\n

The Whole Tomato team had a chat with Julian Bock<\/strong> (called Jules by friends and colleagues), an expert figure in the game development industry with almost two decades of experience. Based in Germany, Bock is currently working as the managing director at <\/strong><\/span>NUKKLEAR<\/a><\/strong>. Until just this March, he was the Director for Product Development at PLAION<\/strong>, the game development and publishing company responsible for the recently released and highly-acclaimed <\/span>Kingdom Come Deliverance II<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

We asked for his insights and comments about what\u2019s going on in the game development industry and how that has affected how they look for new team members for their projects.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Current State of the Game Development Industry<\/span><\/h2>\n

Jog hunting in the game development industry in 2025 is highly competitive owing mostly to the <\/span>post-pandemic slump<\/span><\/a> and the proliferation of AI-assisted development. These two factors have slowed down demand while at the same time increasing individual efficiency, making the competition tight, especially for new developers breaking into the industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

For context, the pandemic spurred unprecedented growth (13% rate of return from 2017\u20132021), but expansion tapered dramatically to around 1% from 2021\u20132023. Now, it is only projecting 5% through 2028.<\/span><\/p>\n

And for aspiring game developers or fresh graduates, the state of the game industry is one of the major (albeit uncontrollable) factors that decide how difficult it is to score your first role or job in as a gamedev.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bock explains that during the pandemic, \u201cwe had a lot more time for entertainment.\u201d But when the lockdowns gradually eased up, the demand for games slowed down but the companies and businesses still had to realize the investments made during the pandemic boom.<\/span><\/p>\n

“We came to the point that a lot of more money was invested into this obviously booming industry which led to projects being started, a lot of more publishers, and a lot more developers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But inevitably, the market stabilizes and investments slow down. So this forms a problem for new developers wherein there had been still a lot of games being published because companies still had the budget from pandemic investments, but at the same time, there were fewer and fewer players than before.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Reality of Modern Game Development Teams<\/span><\/h2>\n

Game development is fundamentally a team sport that requires long-term commitment. Most major projects operate on 3-5 year development cycles, with studios relying heavily on a stable core team of experienced developers. “It’s very important, in my view, that you start with a very strong, reliable core team,” explains Bock, who has managed teams ranging from 5 to 200+ people across various projects, including the recently released Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.<\/span><\/p>\n

This doesn’t mean newcomers are locked out\u2014quite the opposite. Studios need a healthy mix of senior, regular, and junior developers for both cost reasons and for maintaining a pipeline of talent. The key is understanding where you fit in this ecosystem and how to position yourself for growth.<\/span><\/p>\n

What It Really Takes to Get Hired in 2025<\/span><\/h2>\n

Tip 1: Scout the team you\u2019re trying to join and see what you bring to the table.<\/span><\/h3>\n

Companies will always look for the best fit in terms of team composition. Regardless of your current skill level and experience, Bock also emphasizes how important it is to understand the team dynamics and composition of a usual game development team.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teams can\u2019t just be full of seniors\u2014that becomes extremely expensive fast. There will always be space for less experienced devs. As mentioned above, studios need a healthy mix of senior, regular, and junior developers for both cost reasons and to have access to a broader set of skills.<\/span><\/p>\n

So how to stand out as a junior dev? Understand the company and show them your potential and willingness to learn.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bock advises: \u201cFor the young people reading this, it’s important to know if you are being hired in a company,\u00a0 [understand that] as a young developer, you can develop yourself while learning on the job, learning from the seniors, and getting insight of the realities from leadership.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you are able to research and scout the company and the team look for answers to these questions:<\/span><\/p>\n