Amongst their daring escapades and thrilling adventures, it’s easy to forget our favorite video game characters often have a day job that’s paying the bills behind the scenes.
Whilst saving the world may not always pay that well, how much would these iconic gaming characters be earning from their full-time career?
A new study by Raisin UK has calculated how much the most infamous video game characters from Call of Duty, The Sims, Animal Crossing, and MORE would earn as a salary.
Borderland’s ‘Handsome Jack’ and GTA’s ‘Michael De Santa’ top the list of highest-earning characters
Of the fifty characters analyzed, Handsome Jack from Borderlands topped the list with an annual salary of £292,565. As the President of Hyperion Corporation, a super-powerful weapons manufacturer and self-proclaimed egomaniac, Jack has everything it takes to rise to the top of business. And if anyone tries to stop him, chances are they won’t survive.
Coming in at second place is Grand Theft Auto V’s Michael de Santa. Despite his criminal past and ill-gotten gains, Michael’s actual job was as a film producer, which would earn him a tidy £79,589.
In bronze, the position is Alex Mason, CIA Operative, first introduced in Call of Duty: Black Ops, who would earn a cool £65,138 a year salary, whilst it doesn’t seem that much for the dangerous nature of his work, it’s more than enough to pay his bills.
Infamous Sims couple, Mortimer and Bella Goth, are amongst the highest earners, taking home £62,489 and £51,239 respectively. Not surprising considering the lavish life they have lived throughout all four Sims games.
Witcher’s Gerald and Pokémon’s Ash are amongst some of the lowest-earning gaming characters
At the other end of the scale, it appears that certain gaming occupations aren’t paying as well as others. Geralt of Rivia would earn just over £17,000 as a Witcher. Whilst his age is never revealed, Witcher are believed to age more slowly than humans, so at least this gives him longer to save for a potential retirement fund.
Additionally, it’s easy to forget that Ash Ketchum’s job is a zookeeper, what with the amount of time he spends in battles and tracking the rarest Pokémon. But ultimately, even if you want to be the very best, you’ve still got to put food on the table. Ash’s job would pay him around £18,658 a year – enough for a gym membership at the very least.
Mario would earn just over the UK’s average salary
With the average UK salary of £31,461 in 2020, arguably the world’s most famous plumber, Mario, would earn just slightly more than this, with an average salary of £32,609. To marry Princess Peach, he had better start fixing a few more leaks to pay for the upkeep of a castle.
Notable characters from Animal Crossing are also some of gaming’s most average earners, savvy real estate agents; Tom Nook from Animal Crossing would earn £28,294, not taking into account his property portfolio.
RANKED: Gaming’s highest earners
| No. | Character | Game | Occupation | Salary |
| 1 | Handsome Jack | Borderlands | President of Hyperion Corporation | £292,565 |
| 2 | Michael de Santa | GTA 5 | Film Producer | £79,589 |
| 3 | Alex Mason | Call of Duty | CIA operative and retired Marine Force Recon Captain | £65,138 |
| 4 | Lightning | Final Fantasy | Security Regiment Sergeant | £62,697 |
| 5 | Mortimer Goth | The Sims | Scientist | £62,489 |
| 6 | Albert Wesker | Resident Evil | Virologist | £62,427 |
| 7 | Bella Goth | The Sims | Intelligence Researcher | £51,239 |
| 8 | Nathan Drake | Uncharted | Deep Sea Salvage Expert / Treasure Hunter | £50,766 |
| 9 | Samus Aron | Metroid | Bounty Hunter/Federation Police | £50,740 |
| 10 | Joel | The Last of Us | Patrolman | £47,586 |
| 11 | Ellie | The Last of Us | Patrolman | £47,586 |
| 12 | Cole Phelps | LA Noire | Detective at LAPD | £47,070 |
| 13 | Lara Croft | Tomb Raider | Archaeologist | £41,956 |
| 14 | Chris Redfield | Resident Evil | Special Tactics And Rescue Service | £38,136 |
| 15 | Jane Shepard | Mass Effect | Astronaut | £36,868 |
| 16 | Rookie | Halo | Marine Corps | £36,611 |
| 17 | Captain MacTavish | Call of Duty | Sergeant | £35,853 |
| 18 | Nick Reyes | Call of Duty | Lieutenant Commander | £34,610 |
| 19 | Mario | Mario | Plumber | £32,609 |
| 20 | Luigi | Mario | Plumber | £32,609 |
| 21 | CJ | Grand Theft Auto San Andreas | Entrepreneur | £31,168 |
| 22 | Tommy Vercetti | GTA Vice City | Entrepreneur | £31,168 |
| 23 | John Marston | Red Dead Redemption | Rancher | £30,083 |
| 24 | Ratchet | Ratchet & Clank | Mechanic | £29,863 |
| 25 | Tom Nook | Animal Crossing | Real Estate Agent | £28,294 |
| 26 | Link | Zelda | Knight | £27,326 |
| 27 | Isabelle | Animal Crossing | Resident Services / Mayoral Assistant | £24,456 |
| 28 | Don Lothario | The Sims | Medical Intern | £22,840 |
| 29 | Pacman | Pacman | Security Guard | £22,115 |
| 30 | Crash Bandicoot | Crash Bandicoot | Bodyguard | £22,115 |
| 31 | Marcus Fenix | Gears of War | Soldier | £20,400 |
| 32 | Booker | Bioshock Infinite | Soldier | £20,400 |
| 33 | Desmond Miles | Assasins Creed | Bartender | £19,918 |
| 34 | Ash | Pokemon | Zookeeper | £18,658 |
| 35 | Geralt of Rivia | Witcher | Witcher (Detective) | £17,040 |
