What Is a Game Tester and How Do You Become One?

Video games are big business. The gaming industry earned an estimated $347 billion in revenue in 2022, and the number of hours people spend on cloud gaming grew by 44 percent in early 2024 [1, 2]. With so much demand and growth, working in video games can be a lucrative choice—and game testing is a strong entry-level way into the industry.

Discover more about the work of a game tester, how to become one, and what their day looks like.

What does a game tester do?

A game tester—sometimes called a video game tester—is someone who plays video games, tests their features, and identifies glitches and bugs before they get released. Game testers often work for video game companies and collaborate with game developers and programmers to improve games and ensure they’re ready for users. 

Types of game testing

There are two main roles that a game tester typically takes on. 

• Playtesters focus on testing the user experience of a game, such as where it becomes boring or vague, how fun it is to play, and how many victories you can experience on the way to meeting the game’s objective. 

• Quality assurance testers focus on identifying technical issues with a game, such as glitches, bugs, and inconsistencies. 

Why become a game tester: salary and career options 

Glassdoor reports that game testers in the US earn an annual average salary of $64,159 [3]. If you're interested in career growth, there are many roles to explore after game testing, including game writer, programmer, quality assurance analyst, or even project manager. 

Plus, testing games can be a rewarding experience. You’ll typically gain access to the latest games, which means you’ll have an insider’s view of the gaming industry. If you enjoy playing video games, testing them will likely appeal to your abilities and interests, particularly exploring new worlds, paying attention to detail, and thinking strategically.   

How to become a game tester

Game testers usually have at least a high school diploma, as well as some experience—and enthusiasm for—playing games. If you’re interested in becoming a game tester, there are several ways to enter this field.

1. Upgrade your gaming practice. 

The most important part of becoming a game tester is to become an intentional and conscientious gamer. Your goals should include:

• Expand your gaming experience by playing different genres of games, such as real-time strategy, multiplayer online battle area, and sports.

• Build your console knowledge by playing games on different game consoles, as well as on desktops, laptops, and mobile phones. 

• As you play games, think of features that might improve them. Or, if you come across any glitches, make note of what they are.

• Practice describing your gaming experiences in detail. 

2. Build technical knowledge and skills in game testing.

Once you feel confident about your gaming practice, begin developing a strong set of technical skills.

• Learn the basic responsibilities of a game tester, including playing every stage of a game, detecting bugs and glitches, and recommending improvements to developers. 

• Learn QA terminology like playtesting, code release, performance testing, and minimum viable product. 

• Become familiar with top gaming studios and companies like Electronic Arts, Nintendo, and Ubisoft. 

• Improve your strategic thinking and analysis skills. 

• Learn reporting and technical writing.  

To strengthen any of the skills above, consider taking online courses, getting certified in specific skills, or earning a degree in game design, computer programming, or related fields.

3. Participate in public beta testing.

Public beta testing can be a great way to learn about upcoming games, practice your skills as a game tester, and even earn in-game rewards. Explore beta testing sites for gamers like Game Tester, Alpha Beta Gamer, and BetaBound – Games to find opportunities to participate in open tests. With each test, document your process and keep a running account of everything you learn. 

4. Build a game tester resume.

As you acquire skills, knowledge, and experience in game testing, you’ll want to build a resume that represents your capabilities. Be sure to list your game tester training, certifications and education you’ve earned, and concrete game tester skills.  

If you’ve participated in any public beta tests, list the games themselves, the bugs and glitches you found, the gameplay features you evaluated, and when the game was (or will be) released to the public.    

Read more: 10 Ways to Enhance Your Resume

5. Apply for game tester jobs. 

For this step, you might find it useful to conduct job searches on general sites like Indeed and Glassdoor, and game-specific sites like Gaming Jobs Online and Hitmarker. 

For each job listing, pay attention to salary information, skills and qualifications required, and the role’s related tasks and projects. 

A day in the life of a video game tester

As a game tester, you contribute to the gaming industry and community. Testers help developers identify and address glitches, defects, and issues before games are released to the public. Avoiding post-release errors helps keep costs down and keep players happy. Effective testing supports overall game quality and customer satisfaction, helping set games up for commercial success. The games you test could go on to become iconic games that inspire and delight players for generations.  

Video game tester responsibilities 

Video game testers are responsible for several important tasks. Most importantly, they are expected to play video games with a more critical eye than when playing games for entertainment. That way, they can identify technical and creative problems that could result in a negative user experience, including: 

• When a player becomes trapped in a section of the game

• When a movement graphic doesn’t work 

• When the controls don’t feel intuitive

• Areas of the game that aren’t enjoyable

• Confusion about the game, its concept, or the objective 

In order to identify these problems, game testers may be asked to perform specific tasks, such as switching the game on and off, downloading games while playing other games, playing the game on different devices and platforms, and recreating sequences that lead to glitches. 

The playtesting process in 4 parts

Sometimes game testers are asked to participate in a series of testing rounds. For example, Techopedia, an IT news and trends site, describes a four-part process for playtesting, including:

1. Gross playtesting: initial test using the basic running model to find problems in gameplay (how users interact with a game), usually carried out by the design team

2. In-house playtesting: a more comprehensive test to find remaining glitches in gameplay, usually carried out by in-house or contract game testers 

3. Blind testing: when playtesters with no prior knowledge of the game experience it as users and provide feedback 

4. Final playtesting: the last test before the game is released to improve design and aesthetic rather than function

Build your game-testing skills on Coursera. 

Consider taking online gaming courses to build your baseline skills, discover what’s possible for you as a game tester, and familiarize yourself with how the gaming industry works.