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An uptick in video game play and sales in 2020 triggered rapid growth at Iron Galaxy, which has hired more than 100 people between its Orlando office and Chicago headquarters since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Blasko said. The company is not done growing, with nearly 20 openings and 20-25 hires a year anticipated in Orlando going forward, Blasko added.
This growth is significant for a few reasons. First off, companies like Iron Galaxy typically create high-wage jobs. Video game industry jobs pay an average annual wage of $121,459, according to a 2020 report from the Entertainment Software Association.
Plus, these job opportunities are available for local students and graduates. UCF graduates make up 40% of the firm’s Orlando workforce and 25% of its total workers, Orlando General Manager Tom Carbone said. Along with making an endowment to UCF and its employees occasionally teaching as adjunct professors at UCF’s renowned gaming school Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy, Iron Galaxy creates opportunities for local students by typically hiring between five and 10 graduates each year, FIEA Executive Director Ben Noel told OBJ.
