Andrei combines academic knowledge with over 10 years of practical experience to help job seekers navigate the challenges of resumes, interviews, and career growth. Through the Novorésumé Career Blog, he offers actionable advice to simplify and ace the job search process.
Updated on 01/14/2026
Iconic video games have shaped your life. From AAA titles to indie passion projects, you know all there is to know about the best video games out there.
You’re ready to work on the next big hit in the gaming world, but there’s one level you just can’t get past.
Your game designer resume has got you stuck.
You’ve tried everything but it just doesn’t convey your passion and expertise quite right.
Just press pause on that stress.
In this article, we'll walk you through the entire resume creation process to help you level up your game designer resume.
We’re going to explore:
What a Stellar Game Designer Resume Looks Like
10 Steps for the Ultimate Game Designer Resume
What to Include in Your Game Designer Resume
Ready, player one? Let’s jump in!
Game Designer Resume Example
The resume above is a stellar example of what a game designer’s resume should look like.
Let’s look at what it does right:
Uses a sleek design. The game designer resume above doesn’t overdo it with bright colors or graphics, keeping everything reader-friendly and professional instead.
Sticks to the reverse-chronological resume format. This resume format puts the spotlight on your most recent work experience and accomplishments, which makes it a favorite amongst hiring managers worldwide.
Lists relevant contact details.A spot-on information section should include your full name, professional email address, phone number, and location, as well as links to your portfolio or relevant social media.
Includes an eye-catching resume summary. The hiring manager reading this game designer resume will go through that resume summary and immediately know the candidate’s top skills and achievements.
Emphasizes accomplishments over responsibilities. Achievements show the hiring manager you can do more than follow instructions–you can bring results, and that gives them more reasons to hire you.
Keeps the education section brief.The game designer resume doesn’t go into detail about the candidate’s full education history. Since hiring managers care more about your work experience and skills, just listing your highest degree is enough.
Leverages optional sections. If there’s leftover space on your resume, there are optional sections you can use to add even more value to your resume. Things like awards, certifications, language proficiencies, and hobbies can set you apart from other candidates with similar work experience or skills.
10 Steps for the Perfect Game Designer Resume
You saw what a top-tier game designer resume looks like.
Now let’s check out all the levels you need to complete to perfect your resume:
#1. Pick the Right Format
The format you pick for your resume will determine its entire structure, including how you list your work experience and present yourself professionally.
There are three main resume formats you can choose from:
Reverse-chronological (also called chronological format, it follows the linear progression of your career so far in reverse chronological order)
Functional (also called skill-based format, it zooms in on your character’s skill trees)
Combination (as the name implies, this format is a mix of the former two)
For your game designer resume, we recommend you stick to the reverse-chronological resume format, which is an all-time favorite of hiring managers everywhere.
This resume format puts your most recent work experience and achievements first and lets hiring managers assess you as a candidate at a glance, so it’s the best choice to shine the spotlight on your experience and accomplishments.
Here’s what the reverse-chronological resume format looks like:
#2. Keep a Neat Layout
You’ve got the resume format down, now it’s time to design your resume.
As a game designer, you don’t need to be told that game visuals affect a player’s experience of the game. If they’re too confusing, chaotic, or glitchy, they likely won’t even play it.
The same applies to your resume layout. If the hiring manager sees a document that’s messy or cluttered, they likely won’t want to read it
As such, your goal here is to make your resume visually appealing and inviting to the hiring manager, and that starts by perfecting your resume layout.
Here’s how you can do that:
Adjust the margins. You should set your resume margins to one inch on all sides. Anything less will make your resume look stretched out and cluttered, but anything over one inch will make it look empty.
Choose the right font. The font you choose can determine how professional and reader-friendly your resume looks, so pick wisely. We recommend a resume font that’s professional, but not overused.
Style it to your liking. You don’t want your resume to be a boring black-and-white document that doesn’t catch the hiring manager’s eye. However, you should also avoid overdoing it with bright colors and graphics–just a splash of color in the header or section titles is usually enough.
Fit everything on one page. Unless you have more than a decade’s worth of relevant experience, a one-page resume is more than enough. Hiring managers read hundreds of resumes every day, so you want to make sure yours is short and eye-catching.
Pick the right file format. Your game designer resume should always be saved as a PDF file unless the job advertisement specifically states otherwise. Saving your resume as a PDF file ensures your resume’s layout will stay consistent across any device or operating system the employer might use to open it.
Or Use a Resume Template to Save Time
Creating your game designer resume from scratch can be time-consuming.
You have to tweak the margins, find a good font, get the line spacing right throughout the document, and make sure it never spills over to page two.
Well, you’re in luck, cause there’s a cheat code that lets you skip all that.
Try any of our free, professionally-made resume templates!
Each template is made in collaboration with the best hiring managers and recruiters to make sure your resume meets industry standards andbreezes through any ATS.
Here’s a preview of how our templates compare to a regular text editor template:
#3. List Your Contact Information
Now that you styled your resume, you can finally start filling up your resume’s contents.
The first and easiest section to write is the contact information section.
Here are the elements this section should contain:
Full Name. (E.g. Connor Hughes).
Professional Title. Match the job title to the position you’re applying for. (E.g. Level designer.)
Phone Number. If you’re applying for a job abroad, make sure you add a dial code.
Email Address. Even if you’re an avid gamer, don’t reference that in your email address. You want to list a professional email address on your resume. (E.g. Use , notconnorthecoinmaster@hotmail.com)
Portfolio Link. Game designers have diverse portfolios, and you should give the hiring manager quick access to yours. Just add a link to your website and links to any relevant social media like LinkedIn or GitHub.
Location. Usually, adding your city and state or country is enough information. If you’re looking to relocate for the job, or you want a remote position, make sure you specify that somewhere in your resume.
Easy, right?
One thing to keep in mind here is that you need to provide factual information and watch out for any typos.
After all, the whole point of the contact information section is for the hiring manager to be able to reach you. A misspelled phone number or email address might just keep them from doing that.
Correct Example:
Contact Information
David Jones - Game UX Designer
+44 7851 575358
david.jones@gmail.com
www.DJ-GameDesign.com
Glasgow, Scotland
Incorrect Example:
Contact Information
Davy Jones
07851-575358
davyjoneslockerroom@hotmail.com
UK
#4. Write a Resume Summary or Objective
Hiring managers usually go through hundreds of resumes daily, which means they physically don’t have the time to read each one in detail.
This means that to get the hiring manager to dive deep into your resume, you have to do it from the get-go.
This is where a resume summary or objective comes in.
Placed at the top of your resume, this three to four-sentence paragraph should provide a captivating snapshot of your professional background.
The more captivating it is, the bigger your odds of getting the hiring manager to give you their undivided attention.
Here’s what each of them should contain:
Resume summary.Include your years of experience and the most important skills and achievements that can sway a hiring manager.
Resume objective.If you’re just starting in your game design career, write a resume objective instead. Make sure it includes your passions, career goals, and relevant skills.
Here are two examples:
Game Designer Resume Summary Example:
Innovative game designer with a strong background in gameplay mechanics, looking to join the team at Studio X. 5+ years of experience in level design, system balancing, character progression, and narrative development across different AAA games. Passionate about working with a studio that prioritizes crafting immersive and compelling game experiences. Skilled in Unity, Unreal Engine, and C#.
This resume summary does a great job showing the hiring manager the applicant can bring a lot to the table.
Now let’s see a resume objective example:
Game Designer Resume Objective Example:
Dedicated game design graduate looking for a career start at Gaming Company X. Interested in crafting compelling narratives and immersive gameplay mechanics. Experience in designing levels and game prototypes as a student at University Y. Knowledgeable in game design principles, and player psychology, and proficient in GameMaker and Adobe Photoshop.
#5. Focus on Your Work Experience
You need experience points to level up, and it’s the same when it comes to your game designer resume.
Your work experience is the resume section the hiring manager is most interested in, which means you have to get it right.
First, let’s look at how you should format this section:
Use reverse chronological order. Your latest work experience should always be at the top of this section, followed by older roles the further down you go. But don’t go too far back–your part-time job 17 years ago shouldn’t make the cut.
Add the right job title. Be honest about your job title. If you were a ‘Junior Game Designer’, don’t call yourself a ‘Game Design Lead’.
Provide company details. The name and location of the company are usually enough but it’s not a household name, you can add a brief one-line description about the company.
Mention the employment period. Use the mm/yyyy format and apply it consistently throughout your entire game designer resume.
List responsibilities and achievements. Use bullet points to list your responsibilities and achievements. Five to six bullet points are enough for your most recent position while three to four suffice for older roles.
That’s all there is to how you should structure your resume’s work experience section.
But if you want your game designer know-how to really pop out of the page and get you to stand out from the crowd, there’s more work to do.
Give this section a boost like this:
Tailor your work experience. Always tailor your work experience section to the position you’re applying for. For example, if you’re applying for a combat mechanics design job, you need to emphasize your experience in gameplay mechanics at your last job if you want to be a relevant candidate, not your narrative design experience.
Emphasize achievements.Put simply, your achievements can prove to the hiring manager that you can get things done. As such, they weigh much more than your responsibilities. The more achievements a hiring manager sees, the clearer it becomes that you can power up their party.
Back everything up with data. Use numbers to make your achievements credible. Timeframe, scale, and results go a long way. (e.g. "Designed game levels for AAA game," doesn’t sound as impressive as "Designed 9 game levels for upcoming AAA game and completed the project two weeks ahead of schedule".)
Avoid cliches. Saying you were ‘responsible for’ isn't too impressive. Hiring managers have read that a thousand times and it’s not telling them anything new about you. Instead, use powerful verbs that show initiative. (e.g. conceptualized, designed, implemented, led, etc.)
Let’s look at an example of a great work experience section:
Game Designer Resume Work Experience Example:
Senior Game Designer
Gaming Company X
02/2021 - 07/2023
Led a team of 4 game designers, delivering intricate level designs within tight deadlines.
Pioneered a novel UX approach that enhanced player engagement and increased gameplay quality by 17%.
Mentored 9 junior game designers in level design, gameplay mechanics, and UX principles, significantly elevating the quality and cohesion of the team’s projects.
Conceptualized and integrated three DLC packs, each generating an additional $1M+ in revenue within the first three months of release.
Nominated for the ‘Best Level Design’ by an international video game publication for contributions to Quest for the Lost Real: Shadows of Fate.
What if I Don’t Have Work Experience?
Work experience is important and if you’re looking for your first gig as a game designer, you might feel lost.
The good news? Hiring managers don’t expect recent graduates or entry-level professionals to have work experience.
So, instead of worrying about your lack of work experience, leverage any of these sections:
For example, if you created an indie game as part of a school project or made mods for your favorite video game, that can definitely prove you have experience in game design.
Here’s an example of what this section can look like:
Personal Projects:
Mod Developer and Designer
PixelCraft Modding Community
01/2021 - Present
Developed and released a series of mods for the popular game “Realm Raiders,” enhancing gameplay and narrative.
Crafted and implemented 100+ unique mod elements, from new characters to diverse game mechanics.
Integrated custom textures, sound effects, and ambient music to enhance immersion.
Achieved a 60% increase in mod downloads and positive feedback over 4 months on different modding platforms.
Consistently updated released mods on a bi-weekly basis for over 2 years.
#6. Create Your Portfolio
Game designer portfolios are a bit different from other creatives.
Unlike artists and photographers, you can’t just provide a gallery of stills or print them out with your application.
Depending on the exact type of game designer position you’re looking for, your portfolio should be as tailored as your resume’s work experience.
For example, if you’re applying to be an audio designer, that’s more relevant than your character design experience.
But whatever projects you’re looking to showcase, the best portfolio format for a game designer is often video.
Research what the company you’re applying for is known for and choose samples of your work that match their standards and requirements.
You don’t need to show off everything you’ve ever done. It’s better to provide a short portfolio with relevant work than a huge one that doesn’t highlight what they’re looking for.
Once you create a compelling video portfolio, upload it to your personal portfolio website.
💡
Quick Tip
Hiring managers see hundreds of portfolios every day. Make sure to WOW them by putting your best stuff in the first 30 seconds of your video!
Keep in mind the hiring manager is going to look at your portfolio without you, so be sure to add any explanations necessary. This can be what software you used on a given scene from your video and what your exact contributions to group projects were.
Just add a screenshot and a brief text explanation after scenes you want to elaborate on, just like you would in a presentation.
Before you send your portfolio or add the link to your resume and cover letter, make sure it works the same across different browsers and devices. If the hiring manager opens it with Google Chrome, you want it to run just as smoothly as it does on Mozilla.
#7. Keep the Education Section Brief
Chances are, you majored in something related to video game design. And that’s great!
But hiring managers care a lot more about your skills and experience than where you went to university ten years back. So instead of taking up too much space with your education, only stick to the most relevant details in your game designer resume - if you’re not an entry-level professional or recent graduate, that is.
Here’s what to include in your education section:
Degree Name. Your exact degree and major should come first. (E.g. BA in Game Design)
University Name. E.g. University of Sussex, England
Location (optional). You can add the location of your university if it’s less well-known.
Period attended. If you’re still studying, you can write your expected graduation date.
If you don’t have a university degree, don’t fret – a relevant bachelor’s degree can help but it isn’t necessary to get a job as a game designer. And if you do have a higher education, there’s no need to include your high school education at all.
Here’s how a short and to-the-point education section should look:
Game Designer Education Example:
University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh, Scotland
08/2023 - Present
Expected graduation: June 2026
#8. List In-Demand Game Designer Soft and Hard Skills
After your work experience, your skills section is a key player in your game designer resume.
Your skills can tell your employer what you can do and how much they’ll have to train you.
But that doesn’t mean you should list every designer skill in the book on your resume. On the contrary, your skills section should be just as tailored to the job you’re applying for as the rest of your resume.
If, for instance, you’re looking to join a company as their new narrative designer, your script writing skills are more important than your audio design skills.
So here are some tips on how to list your skills and stand out from the crowd:
Put the spotlight on what the company wants. Go through the job description and highlight any required skills. Then just add the ones that you have in your resume.
Research in-demand game designer skills. The video game industry has been growing rapidly these past few years, and you need to stay up to date with the latest trends and developments and update your skills along with them.
Keep your soft and hard skills separate. Hiring managers like finding what they’re looking for right away, so make their lives easier by keeping your soft skills separated from your hard skills.
That’s about it when it comes to listing your skills.
And if you want some inspiration to get you started, check out the 43 most in-demand soft and hard skills in the game design industry in 2026:
Do you still have some space on your resume? Fill it up by leveraging optional sections.
These are not as crucial to your resume as other sections we’ve already mentioned above, but they can definitely help if the hiring manager is on the fence between you and another candidate with similar work experience and skills.
Here are a few sections you can choose from:
Awards. Having your work nominated for a Game of the Year award or winning a smaller video game contest is all worth mentioning on your resume.
Certifications. Technology keeps developing, and different game design software quickly follows. Spending some of your free time learning and developing new skills shows dedication to the craft, and gives a boost to your resume.
Languages. Game designers often have to lead international teams, so being able to communicate in more than one language is always a plus. In fact, according to MarketSplash, the most common languages spoken by game designers in the US are Spanish and Japanese.
Hobbies and interests. You might be surprised to find out that some companies actually encourage candidates to share their hobbies and interests on their applications, so you can always use this section to show a bit of your personality.
Optional Sections for a Game Designer Resume:
Awards:
Best Narrative Design - Runner-up Indie Game Jam 2022
Outstanding Level Design for ‘Pixel Pioneers’ - 1st place Midwest Game Developers Choice Awards 2021
Most Innovative Game Mechanics for ‘Labyrinth’s Legacy’ - 1st place Student Game Awards 2018, University of Suffolk
Certifications:
Unity Certified Profesional: Artist Unity, 2021
Advanced RPG Game Design with Unity Domestika, 2022
#10. Include a Cover Letter
Sometimes skipping a sidequest can have terrible consequences in the boss fight.
In this case, the seemingly minor detail that can change your end game is lacking a cover letter.
According to Forbes, not adding a cover letter is the one mistake too many job applicants make.
A tailored cover letter shows the hiring manager you really are passionate about working for their company, that you dedicated time and energy to perfect your application, and that you’re worth giving a chance.
The problem here is that most people get stuck when it comes to writing a cover letter. How do you sell your skills and experience without coming across as too conceited?
But don’t worry! We have all the cover letter tips you need to write the perfect accompanying piece to your resume.
Here’s an example of what a great game designer cover letter looks like:
Let’s look at how you should structure your cover letter:
Include your contact information. Your cover letter’s header should have the same contact details as your resume, including your full name, job title, phone number, and professional email address.
Address the hiring manager. A bit of research goes a long way when it comes to making a good impression. By finding out the hiring manager’s name or at least information about your department, you show initiative and dedication that make you stand out from other candidates.
Create a strong opening. The first paragraph of your resume should be short and attention-grabbing. Make sure you mention why you’re writing, and what one of your most impressive skills or qualifications is. paragraph.
Expand on the details. The body of your cover letter should get into why you’re the right candidate for the job. Include details about your professional background, and any information you didn’t have space to elaborate on in your resume, and be sure to mention how and why you align with the company’s vision and mission statement. You can also name-drop some of your previous employers if they’ve created successful video games.
End your cover letter the right way. Conclude your cover letter by adding a call to action (e.g. ‘I look forward to speaking with you and discussing how I may contribute to your future work.’). And one of the most common mistakes is not signing your cover letter, so remember to add an appropriate closing line. (e.g. Sincerely,)
Key Takeaways
And that was the full walkthrough on how to make your game designer resume!
Hopefully, now you feel confident about playing the job-hunting game.
Choose a professional resume template so you don’t have to worry about tweaking the layout.
Opt-in for the reverse-chronological resume format to highlight your recent work experience first.
To catch a hiring manager’s attention, always add a resume summary that includes your years of experience, top skills, and achievements.
Highlight your game design achievements, including things like user downloads and recognitions, so that the hiring manager will immediately see what you can bring to the table.
Tailor your portfolio and resume skills to match what the employer is looking for.
Use optional sections to fill in any leftover space on your resume, and make your application stand out from other candidates.
