Video game tester jobs are hard to find simply because of the fact that there are so many applicants and so few jobs. Add to that the fact that most game publishers do not hire their own testers directly, and aspiring young gamers may have a difficult time getting their feet in the door. Persistent job seekers who send out resumes to publishers, and hook up with a recruiting agency, stand a better chance of landing their dream job as a video game tester.

One of the questions commonly asked by new gamers looking for testing jobs is what countries video game testing jobs are available in. Technically, jobs are available in dozens of countries around the world. But practically, the bulk of these jobs are available in the U.K., Canada, and the U.S. When you stop and think about it, this makes perfect sense.

Video game testing is as much art as it is science. One gamer may play the latest RPG in a specific way while the next gamer approaches it completely differently. Since game publishers need input from the kinds of people most likely to purchase their products, they tend to hire game testers from the markets in which they derive most of their sales. Those markets happen to be the three previously mentioned countries.

Video Game Tester Jobs and Countries

Breaking down the geographic locations to a smaller scale, there are specific cities and regions that are more likely to see video game testing jobs than others. For example, Southern California is the biggest hotbed for video game development in the U.S. That's not to say that game tester jobs aren't open anywhere else, but applying to agencies and companies in the L.A. area will provide your greatest chance of landing such a job. New York, as well as some other technology-based cities, also provides a good opportunity to find testing jobs. In Canada, Toronto is the place to be while in the U.K., London is your best bet.

If you're not concerned about the country or geographic region in which you work, your opportunities to find a game testing job are all that much better. Your flexibility and willingness to move gives you greater access to all the opportunities available. Just be warned however, that agency jobs are sometimes temporary and you could find yourself moving from place to place frequently. If you're the type of person who likes to travel and see new places this is not necessarily a negative thing.

One last thing to consider when you're applying for video game testing jobs is the rate of pay as opposed to the cost of living in the area where the job is located. For example, real estate rentals in the Los Angeles area are considerably higher than you would find in a city like Raleigh Durham, NC. So while the pay rate a Los Angeles-based game publisher offers might seem like an unusually large amount of money, you will be spending a lot more money to live there.

The savvy job applicant, regardless of the industry he chooses, takes into consideration the cost of living when negotiating wages and benefits. In the gaming industry especially, the large supply of willing applicants for tester jobs is such that game publishers can keep salary and benefits low. Make sure you know what you're getting into before choosing an employer.