A while back, I did a post that attempted to paint a rough picture of which cities had the most game development going on. The idea behind the list was that knowing where the studios are at = knowing where the jobs are at. It’s been several months since I put that together, so I figured I’d do a follow-up post to see how much (if at all) things had changed. Studios open and close (and occasionally relocate) all the time, so I think it’s worth examining again.
As a reminder, this isn’t a scientific research project meant to stand up to any intense critical analysis – I’m simply checking out the number of companies in each city on www.gamedevmap.com. Last time, I just clicked on each city and looked at the total number of entries. Each city seems to have several dead links or are missing a studio, so I’m doing a little internet digging of my own to figure out the city company count. It’s tough to be totally accurate, but I’m trying to get a little closer. Remember – each city includes surrounding suburbs. I’ve also decided to do the top 22 cities (thanks to a tie for 20th) this time, just because I feel like it. 😉
Here’s the list:
20. Pittsburgh – 6
20. Orlando – 6
20. Eugene – 6
19. Phoenix – 7
18. Denver – 8
17. Minneapolis – 9
16. Salt Lake City – 11
15. Raleigh – 12
14. Atlanta – 14
11. Dallas – 17
11. Washington DC – 17
11. Montreal – 17
10. San Diego – 18
9. Toronto – 24
8. Chicago – 25
7. New York City – 30
6. Boston – 37
5. Austin – 40
4. Vancouver 45
3. Seattle – 58
2. San Francisco – 97
1. Los Angeles – 99