Consider playing video games is simply a waste of time and money? You may need to think again. 

Those thousands of hours spent playing video games, especially if supplemented with a degree in game development and design, can now lead to a career in the video game industry with a very competitive salary.

Game developers and designers are earning the highest salary among almost all professionals in the cultural and creative industry, with a median salary of over 10,000 yuan (US$1562.5) a month in China, according to a report released by the Beijing-based market consultancy CNG.

Its chief analyst Wang Xu explained this could be attributed partly to rapid industry development and to the high demand for talents.

China's game market has become the world's largest, with sales revenue rising from some 10 billion yuan in 2007 to 203.6 billion yuan in 2017, a nearly 20-fold jump in a decade, according to China Gaming Report.

Despite the rapid development, the country still faces a lack of skilled professionals in the industry. Survey analysis shows the gaming market still need over a million game designers to match its rapid development.

Although a high diploma is not a must in the career, big game companies still prefer college graduates with hands-on experience and vocational skills in game development and designing, CNG reported.

Due to course design and lack of interaction with the industry, however, universities usually are not producing the kind of graduates suited to industry demand, said Guo Lei, executive dean of the Pixseed Digital Art Education Base, a talent incubator focusing on digital art fields such as games, comics and animation.

"We want to work with top universities at home and abroad as well as leading companies in course designing and work orientation, so as to cultivate more talents fitting the industrial demand," she added.

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