What Does a Game Tester Do?

If you have a love for video games, this is the perfect job for you. A game tester tests games before they are released to the public. Each game you test will be a similar version to the game being released. As a game tester, you must play the game many times to test for glitches or any other issues. Not only will you play the game, but you must go through all the menus, settings, etc. to make sure they work correctly. Perform every move a player could possibly perform while playing the game.

If you run into a glitch, a bug, or an issue in general, you must make a note about where the glitch is in the game, what it’s doing and a detailed description so that the game developers can fix it. Anything you find to be an issue, don’t hesitate to make a note about and let the developers know. It’s better to bring it up and it turn out to be nothing than to skip over an issue that could potentially ruin the game. Think of yourself as the fate of this video game. If no game testers existed, once the game was released, it could render the game unplayable with glitches, bugs and many other things. In turn, this could lead to game companies having a bad reputation. As a game tester, you could be testing on numerous platforms, including Wii, XBox, Playstation, Nintendo DS and much more.

How Much Does a Game Tester Get Paid?

Depending on your experience level and education background, game testers get paid $16.00 – $20.00 an hour starting out. If you are on the more experienced side, you will get paid around $25.00 an hour. Statistics show that the average game tester starting out makes around $40,000 a year and that can go all the way up to $80,000 a year. Again, this does depend on your experience level, the company you are working for and your education background. The position of a videogame tester does not always last for a long period of time. Sometimes it can be a one-time job, other times it can be for a few months or even years as a permanent position.

How Can I Get Started As a Game Tester?

1. Before becoming a game tester, you must ask your parents for permission. Some games include violence, adult content and curse words. Make sure your parents are okay with this.

2. Next, you should assess your experience with video games and troubleshooting. Have you played video games before? Do you know how to navigate your way around a video game? Do you know what to look for in terms of glitches and bugs in the game? These are some of the questions you must ask yourself to figure out your skill level. If you are not extremely familiar with concepts like this, you should probably do some research since these are key things a company will look for in a game tester.

3. Now you must figure out if you have a platform to test games on. If you have multiple types of consoles, that will greatly benefit you since you can test a variety of games on a variety of platforms. If you only own one, then you will only be able to test games relating to that console. If you do not own a console at all, we would recommend purchasing one. If you don’t have an XBox, you can get one here.  If you like Playstation, you can get one here. If you prefer other platforms like a PC or a Nintendo DS, Amazon also carries all of those as well. It is all about what platform you want to game on.

4. Next, you would find a company that is in need of game testers. You could find the companies by doing some research online and emailing them, specifically we recommend that you try this website or you can try this one for freelance work. If you or your family knows anyone who personally makes their own games, such as on the App Store or Google Play, you could also request them to let you test the game before it is launched. It may take some time to find a company with an open position, but once you do you’re in good shape.

Once you find an open position, you can apply and if you get hired, you’re all set! If you don’t get hired right away, just keep applying. These jobs come up often and once you find the right company, you can work there for quite some time getting experience testing games,

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Helpful Resources

• Indeed.com:  This is a website you can go to in order to find jobs to be a game tester at established gaming companies.
• Upwork.com:  This is a website you can go to that offers a lot of freelance game testing jobs, typically for a mobile device.
• Amazon.com:  If you don’t have a Playstation of Xbox, you can buy them here.