> The average engine coder writing high performance code in C++ isn't a "passionate teen". They are experienced software engineers who want to stick as close to the metal as they feasibly can.
Statistically the median age in the games industry is 25 and always has been. It's a perpetually young industry not known for retaining experienced talent. I know that statistically the median doesn't tell you a lot about how long of a tail there is of senior talent, you need the standard deviation for that, but given what I've seen as mostly an outside observer with a strong interest the burn out rate in the industry remains as high as ever and senior developers with decades of experience are most likely to be an anomaly and an exception that proves the rule than a reality. In terms of anecdata all of the senior software developers I've ever followed the careers of on blogs and/or LinkedIn are all in management positions or entirely different industries after 30. I realize my sample size is biased by the people I chose to follow (for whichever reason) and anecdata is not data, but statistically it's really hard for me to square "experienced software engineers" with "in practice, it looks like no one over 30".
>Statistically the median age in the games industry is 25 and always has been.
Where are you getting this information from? The only hard data I can find is from self selected survey responses, but this survey from IGDA shows only 10% of employed game developers are under 25 [1]. My guess is that (as you've acknowledged is possible) there's some serious selection bias going on. You said you have an interest in burn out rate, so I'm guessing you're more likely to follow/notice game devs who discuss this topic. This group is more likely to be suffering from burn out I'd wager.
Another poster already mentioned that engine devs (the one's writing most of the C++) tend to be older than the industry average.
In game dev, there has been a really serious split between engine development and game (logic and content) development. Most of the talented and experienced programmers seem to drift towards engine development. That's where the hard problems are and where these guys can have the most impact. As a bonus, engine development cycles are not so closely coupled to game release dates anymore, so crunch is less of an issue in engine teams.
Statistically the median age in the games industry is 25 and always has been. It's a perpetually young industry not known for retaining experienced talent. I know that statistically the median doesn't tell you a lot about how long of a tail there is of senior talent, you need the standard deviation for that, but given what I've seen as mostly an outside observer with a strong interest the burn out rate in the industry remains as high as ever and senior developers with decades of experience are most likely to be an anomaly and an exception that proves the rule than a reality. In terms of anecdata all of the senior software developers I've ever followed the careers of on blogs and/or LinkedIn are all in management positions or entirely different industries after 30. I realize my sample size is biased by the people I chose to follow (for whichever reason) and anecdata is not data, but statistically it's really hard for me to square "experienced software engineers" with "in practice, it looks like no one over 30".