About a quarter of the staff where I work has tatoos, openly displayed, and this is far from being the thing you'd notice first... the purple/pink/yellow hair and ridiculous cleavage we get around here would make you look like a decent nerd unless your tatoo says something worse than "I worship the devil... really" (actually seen on someone at work).

HAHAHAHA this thread is making my week! Loving it. Feeling much better about my stuff now

My dad runs a software engineering/ consulting company. It's focused on web application rather than video games, but I hope it's still relevant. This is their staff bios (although they may be outdated) http://www.feature23.com/about/ourteam

I should mention he values how the people work, deliver, and communicate above all else. However, many guys on the team have tattoos. The Chief Strategist, who also deals with potential clients on a regular basis, has tattoo sleeves on both arms. The UI/UX designer has his ears stretched (even in his profile picture on the website) and a couple tattoos as well. Almost all have beards, and some have long or odd hair styles. All are expected to clean themselves and present themselves professionally to clients if the time should come.

I'm surprised that some of the responses here have actually been saying to worry a bit. From my experience in the industry, the companies I have worked at have always been very open about body art/clothing/hair styles/etc. I was under the assumption that the large majority of the game industry embraced this creative expression. I mean, it is a creative industry filled with creative individuals... how could you not expect people to have tattoos?

Regardless, I've worked at 3 different companies, all fairly high profile studios, and freedom of expression (in this case... tattoos and piercings) has always been welcomed. It didn't really make a difference either way in the hiring process what an applicant looked like or sported, but more so on his personality and skills. Now, of course extremes of expression were still observed, as if someone's body art or style was outrightly offensive or suggestive, then yes, that could definitely hurt your chances. But if your style is overtly suggestive or offensive, I would doubt you have anything to worry about.

Any game studio that looks down on tattoos isn't somewhere you want to work in the first place. I'd be disappointed if I saw an art department where no one had tattoos/piercings.

The 2 companies I've worked for had no restriction on anything relating to aesthetic expression

I work at a studio and there are at least two people with full sleves and about 30 to 40 percent that have various tattoos. Unless they are vulgar or offensive tats are quite acceptable

this must be studio-dependent my former producer was looking into hiring new team members and he adored applicants with Tattoos , for him it demonstrated an ability to relax which was equally important alongside the ability to work hard . But it most definitely has to do with the studio itself. i have been on a total of 11 game development interviews and what never ceases to amaze me is just how much studios differ . some studios are ore conservative and enjoy a more professional method of development whereas others are less concerned with maintaining a professional attitude but more concerned with the individual skill sets of a potential employee. personally in an interview i would cover up just because you never know where you'll walk into or who you'll meet but by no means would i assume that having a tattoo would be a major deterrent for you working in game studios across the board.