H-1B Hiring for Video Game Designers is Scarce and Highly Concentrated
Explore H-1B visa filings for Video Game Designers. View sponsoring employers, salary data from 100 filings, and approval rates from DOL public records.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total H-1B Petitions | 100 |
| Approval Rate | 97% |
| Average Salary | $117,072 |
| Salary Range | $50,710 - $300,000 |
| Top Sponsor | Epic Games, Inc. |
| Primary Location | California |
Video Game Designers is one of the H-1B visa categories with 12 filings and an average salary of $120,170. Hiring for Video Game Designers on H-1B is extremely limited, with only 12 positions filled across all employers. The average salary offered is competitive, at $120,170, with a median of $135,000. Geographic concentration is low, with California showing the highest number of positions (7).
| Total Filings | 100 |
| Approval Rate | 97% |
| Average Salary | $117,072 |
| Median Salary | $109,000 |
| 25th Percentile | $78,000 |
| 75th Percentile | $148,000 |
| Minimum Salary | $50,710 |
| Maximum Salary | $300,000 |
| 10th Percentile | $65,000 |
| 25th Percentile | $78,000 |
| Median (50th) | $109,000 |
| 75th Percentile | $148,000 |
| 90th Percentile | $177,000 |
| Average | $117,072 |
| Sample Size | 100 |
| Visa Class | Filings |
|---|---|
| H-1B | 99 |
| E-3 AUSTRALIAN | 1 |
| Education Level | Filings |
|---|---|
| Not Specified | 100 |
| Employer | Filings | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Epic Games, Inc. | 20 | $171k |
| BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT, INC. | 7 | $121k |
| ACTIVISION PUBLISHING INC | 6 | $112k |
| Tencent America LLC | 5 | $118k |
| Bungie, Inc. | 4 | $149k |
| Electronic Arts Inc. | 4 | $141k |
| Schell Games LLC | 4 | $60k |
| BLADEWORK GAMES LLC | 3 | $140k |
| Aristocrat Technologies, Inc. | 3 | $126k |
| Glade Tool Inc | 3 | $78k |
| State | Filings |
|---|---|
| California | 48 |
| New York | 11 |
| Pennsylvania | 8 |
| North Carolina | 8 |
| Washington | 7 |
| Texas | 5 |
| Florida | 3 |
| Nevada | 3 |
| Iowa | 2 |
| Massachusetts | 2 |
Focus your H-1B job search on California and be prepared to demonstrate highly specialized skills and experience to stand out in this very limited hiring market.
The average H-1B salary for Video Game Designers is $120,170, with a median of $135,000. The 25th-75th percentile range is $100,000 to $153,691.
Top H-1B sponsors for Video Game Designers include ACTIVISION PUBLISHING INC, That's No Moon Entertainment Inc., SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT LLC, Wildcard Properties LLC, Bungie, Inc.. A total of 11 employers have filed for this role.
There are 12 H-1B filings on record for Video Game Designers positions. 100.0% were certified.
The top states for H-1B Video Game Designers positions are California (7), Washington (2), Oregon (1), North Carolina (1), Pennsylvania (1).
Yes, Video Game Designers is a qualifying occupation for H-1B visa sponsorship. There are 12 approved H-1B petitions for this role in the database.
H-1B Video Game Designers salaries range from $52,000 to $177,000. The median salary is $135,000.
The approval rate for Video Game Designers H-1B petitions is 100.0%. The total number of H-1B visas issued for this role is exceptionally low, indicating a highly competitive or niche market.
The salary range is broad, from $52,000 to $177,000, suggesting varied experience levels and responsibilities.
Focus your H-1B job search on California and be prepared to demonstrate highly specialized skills and experience to stand out in this very limited hiring market.
California is the primary destination for these H-1B roles, accounting for the majority of positions.
The Video Game Designers occupation (SOC code 15-125501) is classified under the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system maintained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The SOC system groups workers into occupational categories based on the type of work performed, providing a standardized framework for comparing wages, employment levels, and workforce trends across the United States.
Video Game Designers positions fall within the specialty occupation category required for H-1B visa sponsorship, meaning they typically require the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and at minimum a bachelor's degree or its equivalent in the specific specialty. Based on H-1B filing data, the most common education requirement for Video Game Designers positions is Not Specified (100 filings), followed by other degree levels.
Across 100 LCA filings tracked by H1BSalaryCheck, Video Game Designers positions show an average offered salary of $117,072, with a range from $50,710 at the entry level to $300,000 for senior positions. The largest concentration of H-1B filings for this role is in California (48 filings) and New York (11 filings).
Career outlook for Video Game Designers professionals is closely tied to industry demand for specialized skills. Employers sponsoring H-1B workers for this role are demonstrating that they could not find sufficient qualified U.S. workers to fill these positions, which often signals strong demand and competitive compensation. Workers in this occupation may also be eligible for other visa categories including L-1 intracompany transfers, O-1 extraordinary ability visas, or employment-based green card sponsorship through the PERM process.
To sponsor a foreign worker for an H-1B visa in a Video Game Designers role, U.S. employers must satisfy several requirements established by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and enforced by both the Department of Labor (DOL) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS):
The position must qualify as a "specialty occupation," meaning it requires the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and at minimum a bachelor's degree or its equivalent in a specific specialty directly related to the position. For Video Game Designers roles, H-1B filings indicate that employers most commonly require a Not Specified degree. USCIS evaluates whether the position itself, not just the employer's preference, genuinely requires specialized education.
Employers must pay H-1B workers at least the prevailing wage for the occupation in the geographic area of employment, as determined by the DOL. The prevailing wage is based on four skill levels (Level 1 through Level 4) that reflect the complexity of the job duties and required experience. For Video Game Designers positions, the average offered salary of $117,072 exceeds prevailing wages by an average of 26.8%, with 87% of filings offering above the prevailing wage.
Before filing the H-1B petition, employers must obtain a certified LCA from the DOL. The LCA requires employers to attest to four conditions: (1) paying at least the prevailing wage or actual wage, whichever is higher; (2) providing working conditions that do not adversely affect similarly employed U.S. workers; (3) no strike or lockout at the worksite; and (4) proper notice of the filing to workers. The overall LCA approval rate for Video Game Designers positions is 97%.
The annual H-1B cap is set at 65,000 regular visas plus 20,000 for beneficiaries with U.S. master's degrees or higher (the "master's cap"). Certain employers, including institutions of higher education, nonprofit research organizations, and government research organizations, are exempt from the cap. Video Game Designers positions at cap-exempt employers can be filed at any time during the year, while cap-subject employers must participate in the annual H-1B lottery, typically held in March for the following fiscal year.
H-1B visas are initially granted for up to three years and can be extended for a maximum of six years total. Workers who have an approved I-140 immigrant petition (part of the green card process) may be eligible for extensions beyond the six-year limit under the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act (AC21). The average contract duration for Video Game Designers H-1B filings is approximately 36 months.
Cities with the most H-1B filings for Video Game Designers positions.
Other H-1B job categories related to Video Game Designers, grouped by similar SOC classification codes.