Common questions about game testers: how does it work?

One of the biggest misconceptions about making money by testing games is that all you are trying to do is play and say if they are good or not. It is much more complicated than that. It is about a lot of documentation of the game and the things that go wrong with it. People with very good attention to detail end up loving these jobs because they spot things the average Joe wouldn’t. They are then given the satisfaction of knowing that they have made a change to the game and help other people to improve the player experience in the future when the game actually launches.

Pay is nothing extreme, averaging $10-12 an hour. Even with that being said, many testers end up making a lot of money because they literally play all day, racking up hours in a hurry. This invested time is used by going through each level of a game very slowly, looking for glitches or errors in the game. If one is found, just write down what you experienced and where you were.

To get a job as a full-time tester, or even a part-time job as a tester, there are a few forms you need to fill out. The good thing to keep in mind when filling out the application forms is that you don’t need a college degree or any prior experience. If you love gaming and really want to improve the gaming experience for the rest of the community, you’re on the right track, and game companies look for that in potential testers.

Everything else varies depending on the company you choose. Some games you can try get to you more than 6 months before they hit the stores! Others may never come out, it all depends on who you go for and what game you try.

Some other benefits of a tester that most people don’t know about is that sometimes testers are given special cheat codes that no one else has access to! You will also have insider knowledge of the game that will help you a lot if you decide to take on your friends.

For the most part, that’s what gaming testing is all about.