Virtual reality and augmented reality represent areas of opportunity. VR failed to live up to the wildest promises when the new systems launched in 2015. But the number of job postings for VR and AR have risen 93 percent since 2015, with 17 percent of that growth happening in the past year. Those jobs are dispersed across the U.S. but job site Indeed.com noted that five cities have the most VR and AR job listings.
In order, they are New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Jose, and Atlanta. The top three cities are all home to major gaming companies, with New York City housing Rockstar Games, while Los Angeles as a region is home to companies such as Activision, Blizzard Entertainment, and Naughty Dog. Seattle is home to Microsoft, Nintendo of America, and Popcap Games. (GamesBeat Summit 2018 will feature a fireside chat with game entrepreneur James Hursthouse on where the game jobs are.)
Indeed.com said that esports is generating a lot of buzz, with a lot of gamers hoping they can make a career in esports. Indeed.com reported that job postings related to esports are up 18 percent since last year and up 57 percent since 2015. Indeed.com is a major job seekers site, and it analyzed its data for patterns in the game industry, which is prone to ups and downs. The report is a follow-up to data it released on the game industry in early 2017.
The top five cities for AR and VR jobs in the U.S."There's no doubt that behind the glamour and excitement, gaming is a serious business subject to ups and downs like any other major industry," Indeed.com said in its report. "New technologies bring disruption and new roles; some jobs rise as others decline."
