Connect with us
728x90 banner available here

Latest News

Mario would earn £32,895 as an Italian plumber – which video game characters would be the richest if they had real-life jobs?

Published

on

Reading Time: 5 minutes

 

  • At the top of the rich list is Borderland’s corporate president ‘Handsome Jack’ with an equally handsome salary of £333,043 per year.
  • Super Mario ranks among the lowest earners, taking home £32,895 per year on a typical plumber’s salary in Italy.
  • Pac-Man earns the lowest salary of all characters as a security guard in Japan, bringing in just £15,916 per year.

 

From Super Mario to Lara Croft, have you ever wondered where your favorite video game protagonists and villains would rank in the real-world job market?

Online gaming platform Solitaired looked at some of the world’s most iconic video game characters and calculated how much each would earn if they landed their real-world dream job. They based character earnings on data from salary comparison sites as well as publicly available pay bands to find an average yearly salary for more than 50 video game characters.

 

Video Games’ Highest Earners 

  1. Handsome Jack, Borderlands 2 

At the top spot is Borderland’s narcissistic bad-guy, Handsome Jack, who would take home an eye watering £333,043 per year as a corporate CEO. While Hyperion Corp is fortunately yet to be founded, it seems only fitting that as the fictional president of an intergalactic weapons manufacturer and supplier, Jack would take home such a huge paycheck.

  1. Solid Snake, Metal Gear Solid 

In at second place is Metal Gear Solid’s eye-patch sporting Solid Snake, who would take home an impressive salary of £107,517 per year as a Special Forces Soldier for the US Army. Snake, who boasts an impressive military career, was initially inducted into the Green Berets during his teenage years before later joining Big Boss’ special forces unit, FOXHOUND, meaning he would be substantially compensated for his acquired specialist skills.

  1. Albert Wesker, Resident Evil 

In third place is Resident Evil’s Albert Wesker, who would earn a salary of £90,519 per year as a virologist. Having graduated at 17 with a doctorate in Virology, Wesker originally began his training with Umbrella Pharmaceuticals and was later transferred to the Arklay Laboratory as a senior researcher working on the t-Virus project, following the disbanding of his training school.

  1. Alex Mason, Call of Duty 

In fourth place is Call of Duty veteran and fan favorite, Alex Mason. Mason is unlikely to have trouble remembering these numbers, as he stacks up an impressive £82,317 per year as an Intelligence Analyst for the CIA. Mason, who makes his first appearance as the main playable character in Call of Duty: Black Ops, joined the CIA Operation 40 squad in 1958 and continued to carry out several missions for the CIA despite his imprisonment and brainwashing at Vorkuta.

  1. Max Payne, Max Payne 

In fifth place is the titular action avenger Max Payne, who would earn £75,922 per year as a police detective in New York City. Payne began his police career in the 1990s, working for the NYPD as a detective before joining DEA colleague Alex Balder on the Valkyr drug case, following the brutal murder of his wife and daughter in 1998.

 

The 20 Highest Earning Video Game Characters 

 

Rank  Video Game Character  Video Game  Job/Occupation  Yearly Salary (£)  Yearly Salary ($) 
1. Handsome Jack Borderlands 2 CEO £333,043 $432,524
2. Solid Snake Metal Gear Solid Special Forces Soldier £107,517 $139,632
3. Albert Wesker Resident Evil Virologist £90,519 $117,557
4. Alex Mason Call of Duty CIA Operative £82,317 $106,905
5. Max Payne Max Payne NYPD Detective £75,922 $98,600
6. Cole Phelps LA Noire LAPD Detective £71,846 $93,306
7. Gordon Freeman Half-Life Research Associate Scientist £70,145 $91,097
8. Arthur Morgan Red Dead Redemption 2 Bounty Hunter £69,750 $90,585
9. Mortimer Goth The Sims Scientist £69,076 $89,709
10. Isaac Clarke Dead Space Engineer £64,859 $84,232
11. Duke Nukem Duke Nukem CIA Special Agent £62,837 $81,607
12. CJ Johnson Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Entrepreneur £59,626 $77,436
13. Bella Goth The Sims Intelligence Researcher £58,363 $75,796
14. Michael De Santa Grand Theft Auto V Film Producer £54,563 $70,861
15. Leon S Kennedy Resident Evil Police Officer £54,113 $70,276
16. Homer Simpson Simpson’s Hit and Run Nuclear Technician £53,629 $69,648
17. Master Chief Halo Master Chief Petty Officer £53,491 $69,469
18. Doom Slayer Doom Marine’s Master Gunnery Sergeant £53,490 $69,468
19. Sam Fisher Splinter Cell Navy Seal £48,729 $63,284
20. Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine Resident Evil SWAT Team Member £48,158 $62,543

 

 

Video Games’ Lowest Earners 

  1. Pac-Man, Pac-Man 

At the bottom of the list, Pac-Man take the spot as the lowest earner, with a salary of just £15,916 per year as a security guard in Japan – where the character first debuted. While the creators don’t specify that Pac-Man has a job per se, the role seems fitting given the Namco classic shows the yellow sprite navigating through mazes trying to get rid of unwanted ghost intruders.

 

  1. Link, Legend of Zelda 

Second from the bottom is Legend of Zelda’s hero and protagonist, Link, who would earn only £19,661 per year as a knight – if the job were to still exist. A knight was paid an average of two shillings per day during the 1200s, which means that Link would take home just over £19k when taking into consideration currency conversions and increases in inflation.

 

  1. Cloud Strife, Final Fantasy VII 

The third lowest earner is Cloud Strife from the Final Fantasy series who would earn £19,964 per year as a Private First-Class Soldier in the US Army. Cloud was unsuccessful in joining SOLDIER, instead becoming a Shinra infantryman, hence justifying the lower pay band for our sword wielding fighter.

 

  1. Desmond Miles, Assassin’s Creed                  

As the fourth lowest earner in the list, Assassin’s Creed’s modern day main character, Desmond Miles, would earn just £21,408 per year as a bartender in New York City. Desmond, who is the descendant of a long line of assassins, used his training to hitchhike to New York City, where he worked as a bartender at Bad Weather before his eventual capture.

 

  1. Ryu, Street Fighter 

At fifth from the bottom is the main character of the Street Fighter series, Ryu, who would bring home just £21,723 as a martial arts instructor in Japan. Ryu made his first appearance in Capcom’s original Street Fighter game in 1987, and while his name roughly translates to ‘plentiful’ in Japanese, the same cannot be said for his expected salary.

 

The 20 Lowest Earning Video Game Characters 

Rank  Video Game Character  Video Game  Job/Occupation  Yearly Salary (£)  Yearly Salary ($) 
1 Pac-Man Pac-Man Security Guard £15,916 $20,670
2 Link Legend of Zelda Knight £19,661 $25,533
3 Cloud Strife Final Fantasy Private First-Class Soldier £19,964 $25,927
4 Desmond Miles Assassin’s Creed Bartender £21,408 $27,802
5 Ryu Street Fighter Martial Arts Instructor £21,723 $28,212
6 Marcus Fenix Gears of War Army Sergeant £24,119 $31,324
7 Don Lothario The Sims Medical Intern £24,784 $32,187
8 Geralt of Rivia The Witcher Pest Controller £24,906 $32,345
9 Niko Bellic Grand Theft Auto IV Taxi Driver £25,521 $33,144
10 Lightning Final Fantasy Security Guard £29,084 $37,771
11 Crash Bandicoot Crash Bandicoot Bodyguard £29,670 $38,533
12 John Marston Red Dead Redemption Rancher £32,770 $42,559
13 Mario Super Mario Bros Plumber £32,895 $42,721
14 Tom Nook Animal Crossing Real Estate Agent £33,812 $43,912
15 Isabelle Animal Crossing Secretary £34,071 $44,248
16 Freddy Fazbear Five Nights at Freddy’s Mascot £35,078 $45,556
17 Captain John ‘Soap’ MacTavish Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Army Sergeant £35,953 $46,692
18 Booker DeWitt Bioshock Infinite Private Investigator £36,000 $46,753
19 Spyro Spyro the Dragon Jeweler £36,516 $47,424
20 Sonic the Hedgehog Sonic the Hedgehog Professional Athlete £36,592 $47,522

 

 

Honorable Mentions 

Some character earnings meant that they ranked elsewhere in the list, however some are so iconic that it would be a shame to miss them out entirely. 

Given Super Mario’s Italian heritage, he would earn a salary of £32,895 working as a plumber in Italy, ranking him 41st in the list. Elsewhere in Europe, Tomb Raider’s female lead Lara Croft ranks 27th, earning a salary of £41,998 working as a British archaeologist.

While Sonic the Hedgehog isn’t currently on the job hunt, based on his ability to run at supersonic speeds, it is only fitting that he would earn a salary of £36,592 as a professional athlete. Although he may have to wait a few years before he is eligible to earn, as the creators suggest he is only 15 years old.

Pokémon’s Pikachu would be perfectly suited to a job as a detective given his latest movie role, earning him £37,282 per year – although considering his element type, he would also make for a great electrician. His trainer and best friend, Ash Ketchum, would just top Pikachu’s earnings, taking home £41,327 as a Research Fellow for Professor Cerise.

George Miller (Gyorgy Molnar) started his career in content marketing and has started working as an Editor/Content Manager for our company in 2016. George has acquired many experiences when it comes to interviews and newsworthy content becoming Head of Content in 2017. He is responsible for the news being shared on multiple websites that are part of the European Gaming Media Network.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Prague Gaming & TECH Summit 2025 (25-26 March)
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Latest News

Boomerang Partners wowed the guests of iGB L!VE London with a celebration of the first anniversary of the strategic partnership with AC Milan

Published

on

Reading Time: 3 minutes

On July 2-3, Boomerang Partners, a global marketing agency, participated in iGB L!VE London. One of the event’s highlights was the celebration of the first anniversary of the strategic partnership between Boomerang and AC Milan, one of the world’s premier football clubs. Boomerang is its Official Regional Partner.

Anton Eshtokin, Chief Marketing Officer at Boomerang Partners, commented: “We are very pleased with Boomerang Partners’ participation in iGB L!VE London. It is symbolic that, a year ago at iGB, we announced our strategic partnership with AC Milan. We celebrated the first anniversary of this epic collaboration in a great atmosphere, featuring match ticket raffles. We were delighted to welcome hundreds of guests to our booth, highlighting once again the prestige of our partnership with AC Milan in the industry. We have many more joint projects ahead of us, and we are sure that we will be able to surprise everyone.”

The celebration of the strategic partnership with AC Milan was one of the main (but not the only) reasons why the Boomerang Partners booth was a hotspot for visitors to the exhibition. More than 1,000 people visited it during the two-day event. Over 900 guests took part in the Penalty Challenge. The challenge featured two raffles — the first held offline at the Boomerang Partners booth on July 2, and the winner received premium tickets to one of the most famous football matches in the world between AC Milan and Inter FC. The second draw took place online on July 3 on Boomerang’s Instagram page. The winner will receive tickets to an AC Milan match in the Italian Serie A or the Coppa Italia.

The winner of the offline drawing on July 2 was Saad Shaikh, a data engineer at Betzoo Media. He shared his emotions: “This is my first time in iGB. My experience was truly great, and thank you again for giving me the opportunity to have a good time and enjoy the experience I’ll have in Milan. I haven’t been to Milan before. Back in my old days, my family went. Yeah, so this is my second chance. And thank you, Boomerang, for giving me this opportunity.”

iGB L!VE London was successful for Boomerang Partners. The increased attention from exhibition guests to the Boomerang Arena booth yielded impressive results. The agency held more than 120 business meetings and signed 15 new partnership agreements. As the brand enters its second year of partnership with AC Milan, it remains ambitious to follow its slogan, ‘Live without limits.’

About Boomerang

Boomerang Partners is a rapidly growing global brand offering a wide range of services. Boomerang is the Official Regional Partner of AC Milan and collaborates with women’s football star and influencer Alisha Lehmann. In 2024, it launched the inaugural Golden Boomerang Awards — a global tournament for affiliate teams. More than 400 affiliate teams participated in the second season of the tournament in 2025. Boomerang launched six new products in 2024, which contributed to an almost 1.5-fold increase in product users.

Boomerang’s portfolio contains 17+ brands offering affiliate and entertainment services across 40+ markets in compliance with local regulations. These products provide personalized bonuses and 24/7 multilingual support.

The post Boomerang Partners wowed the guests of iGB L!VE London with a celebration of the first anniversary of the strategic partnership with AC Milan appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Continue Reading

Latest News

Totogaming Joins Cernica Pantelimon RunFest: Not Just Present, But Fully Participating

Published

on

Reading Time: 2 minutes

 

“We weren’t just present — we were participants of Runfest. And that’s one of the most important aspects,” said Artak Ashkhatoyan, Deputy CEO of Totogaming.

On July 6, Totogaming joined the Cernica Pantelimon Runfest in Romania, once again emphasizing the importance of promoting amateur sports and a healthy lifestyle.

“Supporting such initiatives is a priority for TotoGaming. First, 50% of the proceeds from RunFest will be donated to the CLOVES Romania Foundation, supporting children affected by CLOVES Syndrome. And second, we’ve always believed in showing our passion for sports through actions, not just words. Have you noticed how we’re constantly rushing through life, yet when we look back, it often feels like we haven’t moved at all? It’s important for us to lead by example and show the importance of participation. This is exactly the message we’re promoting through our team’s active involvement in the marathon. After all, there can never be too much sport in our lives,” said TotoGaming’s Deputy CEO, Artak Ashkhatoyan.

A Simple Concept, a Powerful Impact

The concept of this sports event is straightforward: choose a distance between 1 to 21 kilometers and run. The goal? Make sport an integral part of everyday life. The crowd certainly embraced that, gathering as early as 8:30 a.m. — on a Sunday morning.

Totogaming contributed in two distinct capacities: as an official sponsor and as an active participant. A dedicated team of 13 employees represented the company at the Cernica Pantelimon RunFest, with 7 of them proudly taking part as runners.

More Than Just a Run

It wasn’t an easy challenge — especially because among Totogaming’s runners were people for whom running isn’t a daily habit, or even part of their life at all. Yet they couldn’t miss the opportunity, not least from the perspective of corporate responsibility.

“We just finished the 7.5-kilometer race!” shared Petrut-Adrian Toea from the Totogaming team.

“It was amazing, honestly. Around the 2-kilometer mark, I had this little battle with myself — I told myself I had to finish the race, no matter what. And I did it! I came in around 60th place out of over 100 runners, which for me is a really good result.”

“I see my participation as a small contribution toward promoting a healthy lifestyle. In my close circle, everyone knows I’m not exactly the sporty type. I’m not athletic, and I usually prefer having fun in other ways. But showing up here, early in the morning, in this intense heat, and completing almost 8 kilometers with just one short break — I think it set a good example.”

“I hope seeing someone like me finish this challenge motivates my friends to try something similar for their own health. I believe that’s a meaningful contribution”, – added Petrut-Andrea.

Totogaming also made it possible for every attendee to bring sport into their lives — quite literally. At the Totogaming tent, participants could ride stationary bikes and receive prizes based on the number of points they earned through their efforts.

Whether they were running, cycling, or simply cheering for friends, the goal for everyone was the same: to reach the destination of champions — by bringing sport into everyday life.

The post Totogaming Joins Cernica Pantelimon RunFest: Not Just Present, But Fully Participating appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Continue Reading

Latest News

Affilka by SOFTSWISS Wins at EGR B2B Awards for Second Year Running

Published

on

Reading Time: 2 minutes

 

Affilka by SOFTSWISS, an affiliate management software platform, has secured the title of Affiliate Software Supplier at the prestigious EGR B2B Awards for the second consecutive year. The awards ceremony took place on 3 July at London’s iconic The Roundhouse, where the iGaming industry gathered to celebrate the most successful and innovative companies of the past year.

The consecutive win reinforces Affilka’s growing leadership in iGaming affiliate marketing software. Over the past 12 months, the product has consistently evolved, launching a series of powerful new features.

Among the recent updates is the Cross-Brand Player Duplicate Detection tool, which identifies overlapping player accounts across different casino brands within a single affiliate program. The platform also introduced the new Traffic Report, which provides real-time, click-to-registration and click-to-FTD metrics with multi-dimensional filters. Another new feature allows affiliates to access data on their marketing campaigns and tracking links directly via API, enabling automated data extraction and custom integrations.

At the end of last year, Affilka rolled out the Geo-Distributed Redirect feature, which boosts site visits by reducing redirect times from 1.5 seconds to 300–500 milliseconds, and the Cohort Analysis Report, which offers deeper insights into player behaviour.

Anastasia Borovaya, Head of Affilka by SOFTSWISS, commented on the recognition: “Winning this award two years in a row is an incredible achievement for our team. It reflects our hard work, creativity, and deep commitment to the continuing improvement of our platform. What makes this win special is knowing that the tools we build are already helping our partners solve real challenges. Whether refining traffic strategies or making smarter, data-driven decisions, we’re proud Affilka plays a part in their success.”

Thanks to ongoing updates and the introduction of new innovative features, Affilka by SOFTSWISS now supports over 450 brands, 400 thousand affiliate accounts, and 98 million player registrations.

Earlier in June, SOFTSWISS won two prestigious trophies at another EGR Ceremony – Marketing & Innovation Awards 2025. The company’s marketing department received the Marketing Team of the Year Award for its bold creative approach and effective use of new technologies and data analytics. In addition, Valentina Bagniya, CMO at SOFTSWISS, was named B2B Marketer of the Year for transforming the company’s marketing function into a powerful brand engine within the iGaming industry.

 

About SOFTSWISS

SOFTSWISS is an international technology company with over 15 years of experience developing innovative solutions for the iGaming industry. SOFTSWISS holds a number of gaming licences and provides comprehensive software for managing iGaming projects. The company’s product portfolio includes the Online Casino Platform, the Game Aggregator with over 30,000 casino games, the Affilka Affiliate Platform, the Sportsbook Software and the Jackpot Aggregator. In 2013, SOFTSWISS revolutionised the industry by introducing the world’s first Bitcoin-optimised online casino solution. The expert team counts over 2,000 employees.

The post Affilka by SOFTSWISS Wins at EGR B2B Awards for Second Year Running appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Continue Reading

Trending

EEGaming.org is part of HIPTHER, parent brand of various prominent news outlets and international conferences. These platforms and events span a wide range of industries, including Entertainment, Technology, Gaming and Gambling, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Fintech, Quantum Technology, Legal Cannabis, Health and Lifestyle, VR/AR, eSports, and several others. This indicates that EEGaming.org is part of a larger network that focuses on a diverse array of sectors, particularly those related to cutting-edge technology and modern lifestyle trends.

Contact us: [email protected]

Editorial / PR Submissions: [email protected]

Copyright © 2015 - 2025 HIPTHER. All Rights Reserved. Registered in Romania under Proshirt SRL, Company number: 2134306, EU VAT ID: RO21343605. Office address: Blvd. 1 Decembrie 1918 nr.5, Targu Mures, Romania

We are constantly showing banners about important news regarding events and product launches. Please turn AdBlock off in order to see these areas.