5–10 days
Discovery and product strategy
Stakeholder interviews set the core loop, target audiences and success metrics. Our guide shows what a discovery phase settles before screens.
Game UI/UX design
Game UI/UX design services for heads-up displays, menus and in-game stores
Our game UI/UX design services plan and design the screens players touch: the heads-up display (HUD), menus, onboarding, inventory, in-game store and the game website. One senior team takes a game studio from concept to playtested, engine-ready Figma designs.
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In shortGame UI/UX design services shape the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) of a video game, from the HUD to the in-game store and the game website. They are part of our digital product design services. A full game engagement runs 8–16 weeks, costs $60,000–$180,000, and ends with playtested Figma designs the studio's engine team implements.
Case studies
Gaming UI UX case studies
$5M
funding Nitro League secured within 3 months
200+
products designed since 2017
Definition
What are game UI/UX design services?
Game UI/UX design services plan how players move through a video game (UX) and design the screens they see and touch (UI), from the HUD to the game website.
Game interface design is part of our digital product design services and draws on the senior team behind our UI UX design services. As a game UI design agency we deliver annotated Figma screens and component specs; the game studio's Unity engine or Unreal Engine developers build them. The Nitro League garage screen shows that output on mobile.
- Timeline
- 8–16 weeks
- Investment
- $60,000–$180,000
- Deliverables
- 6 included
What's included
Which game screens do our game UI/UX design services cover?
Our game interface design covers 6 parts of a video game that players touch, each drawn in every screen state: default, loading, error, empty, locked and reward.
Heads-up display (HUD)
Health, speed, map and timers stay readable at a glance during motion. Video game UI design services for the HUD add motion and feedback, the core of our interaction design agency work.
Menus and settings
Main menu, pause, controls remapping, audio and subtitle settings, so players find the options they expect without digging through nested menus.
First-time user experience (FTUE)
The first session, from launch to the first win, teaches controls inside gameplay instead of a wall of tutorial text.
Inventory and garage screens
Players compare, upgrade and equip items, as in the 3D garage we designed, where Nitro players inspect, upgrade and show off their race cars.
In-game store
Currencies, bundles and the battle pass get clear prices, and loot box odds appear before purchase, as Apple and Google Play require.
Game website and marketplace
Roadmap and whitepaper pages explain non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and lead players and investors into the NFT marketplace, built on our UI UX web design practice.
Benefits
What makes UX design for games different from app UX?
UI UX design for games keeps the intended challenge fun for players and removes friction everywhere else, so they struggle with the game, not the interface.
Intended challenge vs interface friction
A hard race is the game working; a hidden settings menu is a defect. Playtesting separates the two by watching where players fail and asking why.
Readability in motion
HUD text and icons need contrast and size that hold at speed, so players read health or position at a glance without looking away from the action.
Input variety
Mobile game UI design sizes touch targets for thumbs: 44×44 pt on iOS and 48×48 dp on Android, as in our mobile app UI UX design services. Mobile game UX design keeps key actions in thumb reach and plans controller support.
Trust in the game economy
Prices, currencies and play-to-earn (P2E) rewards must be clear enough for players and investors to believe. Nitro came to us when investors doubted crypto products, so the racing experience had to earn trust.
Overview
What did game UI/UX design deliver for Nitro League?
Our video game UX design shaped the racing game, 3D garage and NFT marketplace website for Nitro League players, and the project secured $5M in funding within 3 months.
Nitro League is a decentralized play-to-earn racing game built on upgradeable NFTs and the Nitro token, for gamers, NFT collectors and investors. Its scope: "idea to product, conceptualisation, art direction, sketching and modeling, MVP [minimum viable product] launch plan, game and website design, and post-launch enhancements." Discovery and stakeholder interviews led to user flows and a whitepaper; professional gamers validated the result. Read the Nitro League case study.
Process
How does our game UI/UX design process work?
Our game UI/UX design services take a game studio from discovery to engine-ready handoff in 8–16 weeks (40–80 working days) and 5 steps.
5–15 days
User research
Researchers interview 5–8 target players per player group to find where onboarding, menus and purchases lose them.
5–10 days
Information architecture and flows
The team maps the menus, the FTUE flow and the purchase flow before any screen is drawn.
10–20 days
Prototype and validation
Five players per round complete tasks in a clickable Figma prototype, the same prototype playtests our usability testing services run, so friction surfaces before engine work starts.
15–25 days
UI design and handoff
Designers finish the HUD and every screen state, then hand annotated Figma files, design tokens and component specs to the Unity engine or Unreal Engine team, with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 level AA on web surfaces.
Comparison
Game UI/UX design vs game art production
Game UI/UX design services decide what players need on each screen and in what order; game art production makes the characters, environments and effects. Hiring a game UI/UX design company instead of a pure art studio fits when players struggle with flows, not visuals. The table compares both disciplines.
| Criterion | Game UI/UX design | Game art production |
|---|---|---|
| Main question | What do players need on each screen, and in what order? | What do the characters, environments and effects look like? |
| Inputs | Player research, stakeholder interviews and user flows | Concept briefs, style guides and visual references |
| Outputs | Flows, clickable prototypes, UI screens and annotated specs in Figma | 3D models, textures, animation and visual effects |
| Validation | Playtests with 5 players per round on a prototype | Art reviews against the style guide |
| When to hire | Players get lost in menus, quit during the FTUE or skip the in-game store | The game needs more characters, environments or effects |
| Who does it | Our senior design team, including art direction, as on Nitro League | Your art team or an art studio; we do not sell large-scale asset production |
Pricing
How much do game UI/UX design services cost?
Game UI/UX design services cost a game studio $60,000–$180,000 over 8–16 weeks for a full product, or $25,000–$60,000 over 4–8 weeks for a UI sprint.
A full engagement uses 3–6 designers and covers game UI, website and game marketplace; a sprint uses 2–4. Price follows the number of target platforms (iOS, Android and web), player groups, core flows such as the FTUE and the in-game store, and playtest rounds. A live game with weak in-game store or FTUE conversion starts with an audit: $5,000–$15,000 over 2–3 weeks via our UX audit services.
Typical investment$60,000–$180,0008–16 weeks
- Heads-up display (HUD)
- Menus and settings
- First-time user experience (FTUE)
- Inventory and garage screens
Standards & compliance
Which platform and accessibility standards shape game UI?
Six platform and accessibility standards shape game UI design services for mobile and web games, and each one changes what players see on screen:
- Apple Human Interface Guidelines: the designing-for-games and game controls pages cover touch controls and game controller support, so on-screen controls are planned per device.
- App Store Review Guidelines 3.1.1: apps offering a loot box or other randomized virtual items for purchase must disclose the odds of receiving each type of item before purchase, so the in-game store shows odds on the offer screen.
- Google Play payments policy: games that sell randomized virtual items must clearly disclose the odds of receiving them in advance of purchase.
- Xbox Accessibility Guidelines and the Game Accessibility Guidelines: both cover subtitles and control remapping, so settings menus offer readable subtitles and remappable controls.
- WCAG 2.2 level AA: the game website and NFT marketplace need keyboard access, visible focus and 4.5:1 contrast for normal-size text.
Services
UI UX design services for gaming
01
Usability testing services
Moderated studies, concept validation, and A/B testing that catch problems before they ship.
02Digital product design services
Strategy, UX, UI, and validation from one team that stays through launch.
03Interaction design agency
Flows, micro-interactions, states, and motion that make every action clear.
04UI UX web design
Website UX and UI built around clear structure and conversion.
05Mobile app UI UX design services
Research-led UX and polished UI for iOS and Android apps.
06UI UX design services for startups
Design sprints, MVPs, and investor-ready products built fast and validated.
Not sure where your design problems actually start?
Book a 45-minute UX audit session. We review your product and identify the top three friction points.
Book a UX auditFAQ
FAQs about game UI/UX design services
These answers cover the 5 questions a game studio asks most before buying game UI/UX services.
Still have a question?
A design lead answers every message within one business day.
Talk to a design leadDo you build the game UI in Unity or Unreal Engine?
No. Our designers deliver annotated Figma screens, design tokens and component specs, and the game studio's Unity engine or Unreal Engine developers build them. The specs list every screen state, so developers do not have to guess how a locked or reward screen looks.
Can you redesign the UI of a game that is already live?
Yes. Start with an audit of the live game, $5,000–$15,000 over 2–3 weeks, that reviews the in-game store, FTUE and menu flows against usability heuristics and analytics. Its prioritized fix roadmap then scopes a UI sprint.
Is game UI design outsourcing possible for only the HUD and menus?
Yes. A UI sprint of $25,000–$60,000 over 4–8 weeks can cover only the HUD and menus, and ends with a prototype playtested with players. Game UX design outsourcing works the same way: research, flows and playtests come to us while the game studio keeps engine implementation in-house.
Do you design mobile game UI for iOS and Android?
Yes. Mobile game UI design follows the Apple Human Interface Guidelines and Google Play policies, with touch targets of 44×44 pt on iOS and 48×48 dp on Android. The game website around the app follows WCAG 2.2 level AA.
Have you designed a web3 or play-to-earn game?
Yes. For Nitro League, a play-to-earn racing game, we designed the 2D racing game, a 3D garage, the website that leads into the NFT marketplace, and tokenomics and IDO (initial decentralized exchange offering) launch screens. Read the Nitro League case study, or see startups UI UX design for pre-launch teams.
Ready to launch faster and convert more users?
Send us your project. A design lead reviews it and schedules a call within one business day. We sign an NDA before the first technical discussion if you prefer.