Game Designer, Player Systems - StarCraft | Irvine, CA

BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT, INC; Irvine (CA); Hybrid; USD 41,000 - 77,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision benefits

401(k) with company match

Paid holidays & vacation

Job summary

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. in Irvine, CA is seeking a Game Designer to shape StarCraft player systems, movement, weapons and progression for a new game that honors the franchise while delivering fresh, accessible AAA gameplay.

You will collaborate across disciplines in a hybrid schedule and translate ideas into polished features, balancing complexity and clarity to create engaging, long-term experiences for players. Strong communication and at least 5 years of design experience are expected.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of gameplay design experience, with focus on movement, combat and progression.
• Demonstrated ability to design player-focused systems and balance.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills across disciplines.
• Understanding of AAA gameplay loops and player onboarding.
• Experience working with Unity or Unreal and standard design tools.

Responsibilities

• Shape features and systems that drive combat, progression, and moment-to-moment gameplay.
• Refine player movement, weapons, abilities and their interactions with progression.
• Collaborate with UI/UX, art, and engineering to deliver cohesive player experiences.
• Engage in iterative, feedback-driven design and rapid prototyping.

Skills

Gameplay design

Player progression

Abstraction & systems thinking

Communication

Problem solving

Mathematics & balance

Collaboration

Tools

Unity

Unreal

Excel

Job description

Team Name:

StarCraft

Job Title:

Game Designer, Player Systems - STARCRAFT | Irvine, CA

Requisition ID:

R028142

Job Description:

Blizzard Entertainment is assembling a team to build the next chapter of STARCRAFT, returning to a universe forged in interstellar war. This mission offers something new: crafting an original story-driven, open-world shooter while honoring the legacy of one of Blizzard's most beloved games.

We are here to reignite this universe alongside you. We are here to make STARCRAFT, and it's about damn time.

We are seeking a Game Designer to shape the features and systems that will drive combat, moment-to-moment player experiences, and progression in this new game for Blizzard. In this role, you will design and refine player movement, weapons, abilities, and how they interact with progression systems that create long-term engagement. You have demonstrable knowledge and/or experience in player-focused gameplay design systems: movement, combat, power fantasy, progression, and systems. You are able to look at problems from the perspectives of all types of players--from the most casual to the most advanced--and help build features and designs that make Blizzard games enjoyable by all.

You are the type of designer who is driven by accessibility and simplicity in what you create, and you excel at working alongside other disciplines to create exhilarating moment-to-moment gameplay experiences for players. You are comfortable with iterative, feedback-driven workflow. You have a creative drive that seeks and implements input from the team and players. You can quickly adapt to changes in scope and priority and think about the user experience in everything you do.

Most importantly, you are a strong communicator, and you want to be a part of a focused, seasoned team that openly shares knowledge and experience.

This role offers a hybrid work week, with a mix of work-from-home and on-site days, based out of our Irvine studio.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience as a designer with a focus on gameplay.
• Demonstrable knowledge of moment-to-moment gameplay experiences: movement, weapons, abilities, combat, and how they come together for high-quality AAA gameplay loops.
• Understanding of progression systems that provide players with hundreds of hours of systematically driven content.
• Strong interpersonal, verbal, and written communications skills.
• Strong problem-solving skills.
• Excellent grasp of standard mathematics, statistics, and probability as pertains to game design and game balance.
• Strong technical skills with experience with visual scripting languages and/or industry-standard toolsets (Unity, Unreal, etc.)
• Expertise with MS Office, specifically Excel.

Pluses

• Prior experience working on core moment-to-moment gameplay features or systems.
• Hands-on experience designing a feature or system from idea to completion.
• Analytical prowess at understanding how to make games “feel good” to players.
• Strong math skills.
• Experience working closely with UI/UX.
• Experience developing and/or playing games within the shooter genre.
• Prior work experience or education in other (non-design) disciplines: art, programming, production, or audio.
• Experience designing systems that run equally well on console and PC.

Required Application Materials

• Resume
• Portfolio demonstrating relevant design work, or shipped game contributions.

Your Platform

Best known for iconic video game universes including Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, and StarCraft®, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard, which was acquired by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment experiences. Blizzard Entertainment has created some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed and genre-defining games over the last 30 years, with a track record that includes multiple Game of the Year awards. Blizzard Entertainment engages tens of millions of players around the world with titles available on PC via Battle.net®, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.

Our World

Activision Blizzard, Inc., is one of the world’s largest and most successful interactive entertainment companies and is at the intersection of media, technology and entertainment. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty®, World of Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, Candy Crush™ and Bubble Witch™. Our combined entertainment network delights hundreds of millions of monthly active users in 196 countries, making us the largest gaming network on the planet!

Our ability to build immersive and innovative worlds is only enhanced by diverse teams working in an inclusive environment. We aspire to have a culture where everyone can thrive in order to connect and engage the world through epic entertainment. We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered!

The videogame industry and therefore our business is fast-paced and will continue to evolve. As such, the duties and responsibilities of this role may be changed as directed by the Company at any time to promote and support our business and relationships with industry partners.

We love hearing from anyone who is enthusiastic about changing the games industry. Not sure you meet all qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply.

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable assistance to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you are a disabled individual requiring an accommodation to apply for an open position, please email your request to [e-mail]. General employment questions cannot be accepted or processed here. Thank you for your interest.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, among other characteristics.

Rewards

We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered! Subject to eligibility requirements, the Company offers comprehensive benefits including:

• Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance;
• 401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching;
• Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave;
• Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, ID protection, rental insurance, and others;
• If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance.

Eligibility to participate in these benefits may vary for part time and temporary full-time employees and interns with the Company. You can learn more by visiting https://www.benefitsforeveryworld.com/.

In the U.S., the standard base pay range for this role is $30.47 - $56.35 Hourly. These values reflect the expected base pay range of new hires across all U.S. locations. Ultimately, your specific range and offer will be based on several factors, including relevant experience, performance, and work location. Your Talent Professional can share this role’s range details for your local geography during the hiring process. In addition to a competitive base pay, employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed. While we strive to provide competitive offers to successful candidates, new hire compensation is negotiable.