Game Designer, Player Systems - StarCraft | Irvine, CA

BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT, INC.; Irvine (CA); Hybrid; USD 87,308,000 - 161,466,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Dental benefits

Vision benefits

401(k) with company match

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. in Irvine seeks a Game Designer to shape player systems, movement, weapons, abilities, and progression for a new StarCraft title. The role blends story-driven design with open-world shooter elements, requiring collaboration across disciplines and a flexible, iterative workflow.

This hybrid role offers on-site days at the Irvine studio and work-from-home days, with a focus on accessibility and engaging, high-quality AAA gameplay loops.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of gameplay design experience.
• Strong knowledge of movement, combat, and progression systems.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Skills

Gameplay design

Movement & combat systems

Progression design

Balancing & math

Communication

Tools

Unity

Unreal Engine

MS Excel

Visual scripting

Job description

Game Designer, Player Systems – StarCraft

Irvine, CA

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.

Benefits

• 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.

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].

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.

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 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 working with and providing reasonable assistance to individuals with physical and mental disabilities.

General employment questions cannot be accepted or processed here. Thank you for your interest.