Epic Games - Career Profile

What does it take to get a job with Epic Games ? What is it like working at Epic Games? ACR takes a look:

About Epic Games

Epic Games has been in the business of developing games since 1991. The company has a number of award-winning titles to its credit including Unreal Tournament 3, Gears of War, and Gears of War 2. Gears of War 3 is currently the company’s most anticipated game, with a release date of September 20, 2011. According to the company website, “Gears of War won over 30 Game of the Year awards, and sales of Gears of War and Gears of War 2 have eclipsed 12 million units. Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 is the four-time winner of and Hall of Fame inductee for Game Developer magazine’s Best Engine Front Line Award. Unreal Engine 3 is also recognized as the number one game engine by Develop magazine.”

Epic Games’ success is a result of the company’s talented production staff. The company has a team of 200 artists, developers, programmers, engineers, and more working in offices around the world. The company is based in Cary, North Carolina, with external studios in Warsaw, Poland; Salt Lake City, Utah; Shanghai, China; Seoul, Korea; and Tokyo, Japan.

Epic Games Jobs

Epic Games, like many gaming companies, welcomes fresh talent. According  to the company website, Epic Games hires “extremely talented and experienced people” and it offers a “structured but casual environment” where employees have input into the design process and a “say in choosing new team members.” As of September 2011, the company had 25 job openings. Just a few included:

• Animator
• Gameplay Programmer
• Physics/Gameplay Programmer
• Technical Animator
• Technical Artist
• Technical Artist/Designer
• Web Producer

To apply for open positions, visit the Epic Games website at epicgames.com and click “Careers” at the top of the page. When you find a position you feel you are qualified for, you can apply online by creating a login name and password and building an online profile. You can also submit your resume by email to epicgames@agents.icims.com.

Epic Games Salaries

Salaries for Epic Games employees vary depending on job responsibilities, skills, and education, but they are competitive within the industry. Epic Games does not list salaries on its website. However, sites such as Glassdoor.com offer salary information, as reported by employees. Epic Games employees reported the following salaries anonymously:

• Lead Designer: $86,000-$92,000
• Lead Programmer: $100,000-$114,000
• Lead Designer/Graphic Artist: $72,000-$78,000
• Programmer/Physics Simulation: $89,000-$104,000
• Multimedia Software Project Specialist: $80,000-$86,000

To see how Epic salaries compare, take a look at Game Developer Magazine. This publication conducts an industry-wide salary survey each year. The latest survey lists average salaries for programmers, artists and animators, game designers, production specialists, and sound designers working in the gaming industry.

• Art & Animation: $71,354
• Business and Legal: $106,452
• Game Design: $70,223
• Production: $88,544
• Programmers: $85,733
• Sound Designer: $68,088

Game Developer Magazine is a San Francisco-based print publication serving more than 30,000 professional game developers.