Careers in online gaming are available to people with a variety of qualifications and skill sets, and of course those hoping to work in IT will be particularly well catered to by this industry.
If you are still thinking about what to study, or looking for a career change, here are a few examples of the IT careers that you can pursue in conjunction with supporting the ever-growing ecosystem of online gaming.
Programmer
From the latest FPS and battle royale experiences to the wide range of games found on sites like Casumo casino, there are online entertainment options for every taste, and each one needs to be put together by an experienced team of programmers.
Programmers play an especially important role in an online gaming context, because unlike single player experiences which pit people against computer-controlled enemies and challenges, multiplayer games need to be able to effectively support consistent gameplay on a minute-to-minute basis. They also have to survive and thrive through frequent content updates and improvements, meaning that they are an ever-evolving beast rather than a project that can be seen as ‘finished’ at any point.
You will need a degree in computer science and will also need to become proficient across a number of significant coding languages. A degree of creativity is also required, of course, although problem-solving skills are arguably more important.
QA tester
Before games launch, they need to be extensively tested to find any flaws and also make them as fun and fluid as possible. This is where a quality assurance tester comes into play, literally.
QA testing may sound like fun, but it requires a rigorously scientific approach to putting new games through their paces, and those with senior roles in this field are very valuable to the organizations they represent.
As well as having a degree in a relevant computing subject, you should also be able to exhibit excellent communications skills, as well as being good at working within strict deadlines when major projects are racing towards completion.
Security specialist
IT security is an issue which all businesses and industries face, and online gaming is no different. If you want to work as a specialist in this arena, you will not only be tasked with keeping developers safe from cyber attacks, but also with protecting customers from the advances of malicious third parties, while in turn rooting out those who would seek to exploit the gameplay systems themselves.
In-game hacking is a particular issue in popular online experiences, and security teams will be expected to deal with this kind of manipulation in addition to shielding legitimate players from a whole host of other threats and concerns.
As with the other IT careers covered so far, the skills you will develop as a security specialist in online gaming are eminently transferrable, so if you decide to jump ship to another industry in the future this will always be an option.
Digital artist
Video games are art in their own right, and of course even the smallest scale online titles need to be imbued with a variety of creative features, which is where digital artists come into play.
There is no single type of all-rounder artist in this industry, but rather a number of different disciplines which complement one another. From the artists who animate character movements and objects within the world of the game, to the designers who are responsible for the user interface, this type of career is the ideal blend of IT savvy and artistic flare.
With lots of other IT careers in online gaming to consider, it is no surprise that this industry is going from strength to strength.
