60% of Russian-speaking gaming professionals living in Cyprus earn more than $4,000 a month
We continue to publish the results of the salary survey, which we conducted from April to May 2023, chapter by chapter. Today's publication focuses on the salary levels of the average Russian-speaking gaming professional residing in Cyprus.
We would like to remind you that we are currently conducting a new salary survey. Through it, we are collecting up-to-date data on the salary situation among Russian-speaking and Russian professionals. You can participate in it here:
The peculiarity of Cyprus is that it hosts the highest concentration of top managers/directors of gaming companies, outside of Russia (approximately 15% of all the top professionals we surveyed live in Cyprus). Their regional share compared to other areas of activity is unprecedented. In no other country do top-level employees account for more than 10% of all specialties. Additionally, Cyprus has a record share of analysts (more than 10%) and middle managers (20.4%). Together, game designers, artists, and programmers account for only 36.7%.
There are no statistically significant numbers of Junior-level specialists in Cyprus, and the percentage of Middle-level specialists is small compared to other regions—14.3%. At the same time, the same 14.3% applies to professionals who classify themselves as C-level (a percentage not even closely matched in other countries, where their share is typically less than 5%). A similar trend is observed with Heads of departments. In most regions, their share does not even reach 5-6%, whereas in Cyprus, they account for nearly a quarter of those surveyed.
Despite the fact that the dominant age group among Russian-speaking gaming professionals in Cyprus is aged 25 to 34, it is worth noting other aspects. Firstly, the age group of 18 to 25 is minimally represented (none were found among our respondents). Secondly, the largest percentage of specialists falls within the 35 to 44 age range (accounting for nearly 40% of developers in the country, while in other relocation regions, this group's share generally does not exceed 20%).
The monthly expenses of Russian-speaking gaming specialists living in Cyprus are the highest among the regions we examined. Consequently, there is the largest disparity between the expenses of those living in Cyprus compared to those in Russia. On average, a developer on the island spends 212% more on themselves than in Russia: $2,550 versus $815. The difference between median values is even greater—235%: $2,350 versus $700.
Considering the high cost of living, the salary expectations of Russian-speaking gaming developers residing in Cyprus are also the highest among all the regions we considered. Game developers generally note that for a comfortable life on the island, they need to earn just over $6,000 per month. Nonetheless, the median amount is significantly lower—$5,000.
Cyprus has three distinguishing features as a region in terms of salary distribution. Firstly, there are no specialists earning less than $1,000 (or their number is statistically insignificant). Secondly, the salary groups that are primary in other regions ($1,000 to less than $2,500) are weakly represented. Thirdly, the largest salary group comprises those earning between $4,000 and less than $5,000.
The share of Russian-speaking gaming specialists earning more than $4,000 per month in Cyprus is almost 60%. In comparison, on average, this salary group in the Russian-speaking industry does not exceed 15%. The average salary of a Russian-speaking gaming developer on the island is $4,563 (median is $4,450).
Cyprus boasts the lowest level of job, conditions, and salary dissatisfaction among all Russian-speaking developers. The level of job dissatisfaction is particularly low (only 4.1%). Meanwhile, dissatisfaction with career prospects aligns with the average in the Russian-speaking industry (standing at 44%).
Methodology
The study is the result of the third salary survey of Russian-speaking representatives in the gaming industry. The survey was conducted by WN Media Group from April to May 2023. It was carried out through voluntary questionnaires (participants filled out a freely distributed questionnaire with questions on their own).
During the survey, 1,004 completed questionnaires were received, of which 49 were from specialists located in Cyprus.
