Gaming is popular with teenagers, with the 2025 Bitesize Teen Summit survey revealing that 94% of teens who were surveyed played video games. Gaming companies also feature heavily on the list of organisations that teens would like to work for on the 2026 Bitesize Careers Survey, with Nintendo, Electronic Arts and PlayStation in the top 30 list.
But what jobs are there in the gaming industry? Presenter and Job Detective, Emma-Louise Amanshia, tries to guess what gaming-related job Mike Rose does.
Emma-Louise: This is Mike. He's got a job in the games industry, but I need to try and work out exactly what it is he does.Let's play Job Detective!
Emma-Louise: Are you good at art?
Mike: I am terrible at art. Definitely, definitely not an artist.
Okay, because of that answer, I'm gonna say that you're not a 2D or 3D artist.
Mike: I'm not, no. I do work with 2D and 3D artists. 2D and 3D is talking about the style of the art in the game. So for example, a 3D game where you are exploring an open space, 2D games are more flat art.
From what you said, I don't think you're an animator.
Mike: I'm not. No, I'm not an animator.
Emma-Louise: That's getting gone. Yeah. That's gone.
Mike: So an animator will take the artist's work and make it animate.
Emma-Louise: Do you know how to code?
Mike: I went to university to learn how to code.
Emma-Louise: So you've been to university, but do you need a degree for the job that you do now?
Mike: I would say if you were working in one of the big video game companies with hundreds of employees, then maybe they would want that. But on the level that I work, you probably wouldn't need it.
Emma-Louise: Now, in your role, do you work on the game before, during or after it's made?
Mike: It varies actually. Sometimes I work on a game from the very beginning, from before it's even a game, when I've seen games that were just sketches. And then yeah, definitely, when a game has then been released and people can play it, I'm very involved at that point.
Emma-Louise: I think I'm gonna rule out games designer.
Mike: So I'm not a game designer no. I do work with game designers. The game designer is the one who is deciding the mechanics of the game. And really it boils down to whether the game is fun or not.
Emma-Louise: What does your day-to-day look like?
Mike: Trying to make the games that we are working with get to as many different people as they possibly can.
Emma-Louise: You spoke about making sure that the game is on different platforms.
Mike: Yes.
Emma-Louise: So I don't think you do anything like be a streamer.
Mike: I'm not a streamer though. I will work with streamers and give them games that we are working on so that they can play them. But I don't do the streaming myself, no.
Emma-Louise: Some of these jobs, I don't know exactly what they do.
Mike: Okay.
Emma-Louise: And I think either you do them or work with them.
Mike: Okay.
Emma-Louise: So I want to ask you, what is a community manager?
Mike: Someone who is building some kind of community around a game.
Emma-Louise: Cool job. I don't think it's yours.
Emma-Louise: It's not mine.
Emma-Louise: I'm gonna make a guess. I'm gonna say you're a games publisher.
Mike: I am a game publisher. Yes. I am!
Emma-Louise: But what is that job? What does that mean?
Mike: So I run a Manchester-based company called No More Robots. Essentially, what happens is that people who are making games, they will come to me and they will show me a game they are making, and they will need some help to get to the finish line with it. Essentially, everything to do with the game that isn't making the game.
Emma-Louise: I never heard of Mike's job before, but it sounds cool. If you want to find out more about jobs like that, head to the BBC Bitesize Careers website.
Jobs in gaming
Here is more information about some of the roles in gaming that are talked about in Job Detective.
1. Game designer
A games designer decides the mechanics of a game. They define rules, gameplay, characters and story, making sure that the game is fun to play.
2. Social media marketing specialist
The social media marketing specialist oversees the social strategy for the game, managing the online presence across social media. They'll create digital content that creates hype for the game's fanbase.
3. 2D&3D Artist
2D artists make 2 dimensional characters, objects and worlds for games, whilst 3D artists make things that are 3 dimensional.
4. Game animator
Game animators take the characters and objects made by 2D and 3D artists and bring them to life with movement.
5. QA tester
A QA tester looks for bugs and glitches in games and makes reports about what they find. This is important to prevent faulty games being released to the public.
6. Game producer
A game producer oversees the development of the game. They work on things like finances, scheduling and team management to make sure that the game is released on time and in budget.
7. Community manager
A community manager builds a community around the game. Their aim is to create loyal following and create engagement around the game.
8. Game publisher
A game publisher promotes a game and gets it into stores. This includes finances, funding and distribution of the game.
9. Game content creator
A game content creator creates puzzles, missions or levels in a game. They make sure the elements are fun and function properly.
10. Streamer
Game streamers live stream themselves playing games online. They earn money through sponsorship deals, ad revenue and subscriptions.
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