The video game industry is ever-growing and requires professionals with knowledge and experience in game development. According to Statista, the value of the video game industry is almost $86 billion. This value cuts across video games on computers, consoles, tablets, smartphones, and social networks.
To build the best video games, developers rely on programming languages like Lua, C++, and Java. We curated this guide to help you learn who uses Lua and what it is used for in the tech industry. We’ve also included Lua job positions with top companies and salaries to steer you in the right career direction. Find out more about the Lua scripting language below.
What Is Lua?
Lua is a scripting language that supports procedural, functional, object oriented, and data-driven programming. The programming language is easily integrated with other programming languages in development. It often goes hand in hand with C and C++. Developers also use the programming language to support other programming languages using plugins. It can support .NET or C#.
Lua cuts across multiple industry applications. This is because the scripting language is robust, fast, embeddable, portable, small, free, and powerful. The programming language can handle large task orders faster than most functional languages. Given its small size, the scripting language is easily embedded in devices for game engines. Its small size also plays a role in increasing the speed of a program without affecting its functionality.
Developers also use it in conjunction with other scripting languages such as Perl and Ruby to increase usability. There are many advantages of Lua as a scripting language. It aids in in-app integration, flexibility, simple procedural syntax, dynamic variables, debugging, and support. It also features a simple syntax that has 20 keywords. Developers rely on the C compiler to run Lua anywhere.
How Popular Is Lua?
Lua is popular among the developer community. The scripting language’s core features offer plenty of advantages that foster faster and easy development, especially in the gaming industry. Below are statistics to showcase the prevalent use of Lua and its popularity.
- Eight percent market share in 2021. Lua was the fourth most popular programming language worldwide in 2021. In the list of languages, the leading programming language is PHP, followed by ASP.NET.
- Top 30 on the list of most popular programming languages. Lua is popularly used by developers across the world, making the list of the top 30 programming languages.
What Is Lua Used For?
Lua has multiple uses. The open source programming language has value when it comes to application server systems and even small mobile applications. We compiled the uses of Lua below to help you learn more about the programming language and its versatility.
Scripting
Lua is popularly used in task automation. You can use Lua for renaming and downloading files. It can also be used in web scraping. You can use it alongside other programming languages to develop custom applications.
Video Game Development
Lua is mostly used in video game development. It can easily create advanced functionality while increasing the overall performance of the application. The scripting language has been used to develop notable games such as World of Warcraft and Warframe.
Network Programs
Lua is also popularly used in developing network systems. For instance, the scripting language was used to develop CISCO Systems and Nmap.
Industrial Programs
Developers also rely on the embedded programming language to develop industrial programs. It is been used to build Adobe Lightroom and the MySQL Workbench.
Embedded Programming
Size and speed are major factors in embedded programming. Lua is reliable for adding to the functionality of applications. Developers use it to create new features or functions for an application. The Lua API has standard libraries that allow it to integrate with other programming languages such as C, C++, Ruby, Java, or Ada.
List of Lua Companies: Overview
| Companies That Use Lua | Who Uses Lua at This Company? | What Does This Company Use Lua For? | Estimated Number of Employees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Activision | Senior online engineer, lead UI programmer | Embedded programming, game development | 9,800 |
| Amazon | Software development engineer, systems development engineer, hardware development engineer | Embedded programming | 798,000 |
| Apple | System software engineer, system integration engineer, embedded software development | Embedded programming | 147,000 |
| Software engineer, user researcher, interaction designer | Scripting, network programming | 135,301 | |
| Mastercard | Director API gateway, senior software engineer | Embedded programming | 21,000 |
| Microsoft | Software engineer, senior researcher | Scripting, network programming | 181,000 |
| Oculus | Game designer, engine programmer, VR mechanical simulation engineer | Game development, scripting | 1,000 |
| Raven | Software engineer, associate online engineer | Scripting | 1,304 |
| Roblox | Security engineer, software engineer, animation engineer | Game development, scripting | 1,435 |
| TikTok | Software engineer, interactive engineer | Scripting, network programming | 19,376 |
List of Companies That Use Lua, Expanded
Below you will find a detailed description of the companies that use Lua. We also list the job positions and salaries that require experience in Lua. These are all great career opportunities that involve knowledge of Lua.
Activision
Activision is an American-based video game publisher. Formerly, the company was known as Computer Arts, Inc., Activision Inc, and Mediagenic. The company develops, publishes, and distributes entertainment for gaming consoles, mobile devices, and PCs. It is popular for distributing top video games such as Call of Duty and Crash.
Average Salaries for Activision Employees Who Use Lua
- Senior online engineer | $160,003
- Associate online engineer | $108,387
- Lead UI programmer | $194,732
Amazon
Amazon is an American company that deals with cloud computing, artificial intelligence, ecommerce, and digital streaming. The company started as a bookseller before diversifying into the tech field. Today, the company provides top-notch products and services such as Amazon Web Services, Amazon Prime, Amazon Game Studios, Amazon Luna, and Amazon Drive.
Average Salaries for Amazon Employees Who Use Lua
- Software development engineer | $126,619
- Systems development engineer | $125,285
- Hardware development engineer | $118,623
Apple
Founded by Steve Jobs, Apple manufactures personal computers, smartphones, computer software, and computer peripherals. It is one of the largest information technology companies that cut across multiple sectors. It is well known for computer hardware, software, consumer electronics, digital distribution, media, and artificial intelligence.
With products such as Macintosh, iPod, iPhone, App Store, Apple Music, and iCloud, the company does not shy away from tech development. Find out which job you can land at Apple with skills in Lua.
Average Salaries for Apple Employees Who Use Lua
- System software engineer | $151,199
- System integration engineer | $150,002
- Embedded software developer | $138,432
Google is a multinational company that focuses on Internet services and products. Recognized as one of the top tech companies in the US, the company provides services in multiple areas. Google tackles computer hardware, software, artificial intelligence, advertising, and cloud computing.
Major Google products are Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Chat, Google Earth, Google Search, and YouTube. The company relies on a long list of languages, including the scripting language Lua. Check out available Lua jobs at Google below.
Average Salaries for Google Employees Who Use Lua
- Software engineer | $125,379
- User experience researcher | $148,793
- Interaction designer | $152,518
Mastercard
Mastercard is a company that connects consumers, financial institutions, and merchants. It provides technology that helps facilitate payments electronically. Clients can use credit or debit cards to complete payments. Below you will find some of the positions that require experience in functional languages like Lua at Mastercard.
Average Salaries for Mastercard Employees Who Use Lua
- Director API gateway | $162,329
- Senior software engineer | $126,023
Microsoft
This technology company deals with software development, computer hardware, consumer electronics, cloud computing, video games, and social networking services. It is well known for supporting and developing software and devices. You might have come across Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, TechNet, Xbox, or MSDN. The company employs multiple professionals in tech.
Average Salaries for Microsoft Employees Who Use Lua
- Software engineer | $127,584
- Senior researcher | $200,267
Oculus
Oculus is a subsidiary of Meta, formerly known as Facebook. The company manufactures virtual reality headsets and touch controllers. So far, the company has produced the Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift. The company focuses on gaming products and development kits. It features multiple departments such as computer vision, social interaction, and haptics which contribute to VR research.
Average Salaries for Oculus Employees Who Use Lua
- Game designer | $70,173
- Engine programmer | $177,350
- VR mechanical simulation engineer | $113,486
Raven
Raven is an American-based company that produces electronics, agriculture products, and sheeting. Founded in 1956, the company’s main focus was to manufacture high-altitude balloons for space exploration. Today, the company is a highly diversified technology company. Find out which Lua jobs and salaries are offered at Raven.
Average Salaries for Raven software engineer Employees Who Use Lua
- Software engineer | $102,742
- Associate online engineer | $80,701
Roblox
This is a platform whereby people create and share experiences in 3D. Users can play or develop thousands of 3D games on the platform. The game platform is free to access from anywhere across the world. However, users who want upgrades must pay a relatively small fee. Most of the games available are coded using the cross-platform programming language.
Average Salaries for Roblox Employees Who Use Lua
- Security engineer | $179,637
- Software engineer | $142,466
- Animation engineer| $73,702
TikTok
TikTok is a social networking service that has global offices around the world. If you want to join the company, you can work in Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Singapore, or remotely. The company offers a platform for short videos of around 15 seconds. With billions of downloads, the company seeks professionals who are skilled in tech to maintain the platform.
Average Salaries for TikTok Employees Who Use Lua
- Software engineer | $106,555
- Interactive engineer | $166,014
Which Real-World Lua Use Case Is Right for Me?
This functional programming language has a bunch of features that make it a preferred language in video game engine development. It is embeddable, fast, portable, and easy to code. It’s an excellent programming language for beginners who want to build games.
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To learn more about the uses of Lua, you can rely on Lua community platforms. The programming language has an active community that discusses tools, technologies, and best practices of the language. In addition, you can attend a coding bootcamp to get the Lua knowledge you need.
Uses of Lua FAQ
There are multiple popular games that rely on Lua as a primary language for game development. They include Artifact, Aquaria, American Girl, and Angry Birds. Other games based on Lua are Chocolatier, Company of Heroes, Demigod, Crackdown, Enigma, and Eressea.
After learning Lua, you can become a software engineer, interactive developer, embedded developer, system designer, technical artist, or application engineer. You can also become a video game developer or a backend engineer for a variety of different operating systems.
There are multiple companies that use Lua today including Shopify, Tokopedia, Roblox, Affirm, and Avito. All of these companies rely on Lua for development.
The embeddable scripting language has a simple syntax that makes it popular amongst developers. They also rely on it because it has automatic memory management and can be easily embedded into any application.
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