Game Director - Hearthstone | Irvine, CA

BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT, INC.; Irvine (CA); Hybrid; USD 137,000 - 253,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

401(k) with Company match

Tuition reimbursement

Paid holidays and vacation

Job summary

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. in Irvine, CA, is seeking a Game Director to lead Hearthstone's live-service and creative direction across Hearthstone’s formats, Battlegrounds, and live ops.

You will translate player needs and business goals into durable priorities, guiding a senior leadership team and cross-functional partners to deliver compelling player experiences. The ideal candidate has 12+ years in game design with senior leadership experience, deep live-service expertise, and a passion for

Qualifications

• 12+ years of professional game design experience
• Senior leadership or director level experience in gaming
• Proven success leading a live-service game with recurring content releases

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve the live game vision and direction across Hearthstone formats
• Provide strategic leadership across major game experiences and align goals
• Champion quality in delivering fun card sets and meet business objectives
• Partner with product, UX, telemetry, marketing and analytics to translate insights into priorities
• Drive cross-disciplinary groups with clear goals and accountability
• Represent Hearthstone’s creative vision with Blizzard leadership and stakeholders

Skills

Leadership

Live-service

Strategic vision

Cross-functional leadership

Job description

Team Name: Hearthstone Job Title: Game Director - Hearthstone | Irvine, CA Requisition ID: R027738

Pull up a chair and join us by the hearth! Blizzard is looking for a Game Director to join the Hearthstone leadership team. Hearthstone continues to reach millions of players worldwide and has delivered as one of Blizzard’s flagship live-service titles for 12 years running. In this role, you will be joining a veteran leadership team that is united by a passion for card games and player-first development. As Blizzard invests in the next decade and beyond for Hearthstone, we are adding a Game Director to help shape what Hearthstone becomes for millions of players around the world. This role is an opportunity to steward one of gaming’s most beloved strategy franchises while helping define its future across competitive play, social experiences, live operations, and new ways for players to engage with Hearthstone. This added leadership role will own the game’s near‑term creative, gameplay, and live‑service direction, while partnering closely with Hearthstone’s senior game director and the rest of Hearthstone’s senior leadership on the long‑term strategy for Hearthstone’s future. The role spans Hearthstone’s constructed card game formats, Battlegrounds, and live operations initiatives, helping shape both the immediate player experience and the ongoing evolution of Hearthstone. You will help set the creative and strategic direction for a game that has delighted players for over a decade, ensuring it continues to surprise, entertain, and evolve for many years to come. We are looking for a strategic, player‑focused design leader who brings deep live‑service leadership experience, strong genre‑relevant judgment, and the ability to align teams around a compelling vision. As Game Director, you will help translate player needs, business opportunities, and creative ambition into durable priorities and clear direction. The ideal candidate thrives in collaborative environments, develops creative talent, communicates effectively with senior stakeholders, and holds a high bar for quality while championing the player at every step. This role offers a flexible hybrid work week, with a mix of remote and on‑site days. While hybrid is the standard arrangement, you’re also welcome to work on site full‑time if you prefer. The home studio for this role is in Irvine, CA.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve the vision and direction for the live game, including delivering best‑in‑class gameplay, supporting a healthy metagame, and driving ongoing improvements to the player experience.
• Provide strategic leadership across Hearthstone’s major game experiences, aligning creative, player, and business goals while helping establish priorities across content, systems, and live‑service initiatives.
• Champion quality in the delivery of fun and engaging card sets, providing actionable feedback and roadblock removal necessary for the design team to deliver on quality targets and business objectives.
• Partner closely with product management, user research, telemetry & data science, marketing, and other key stakeholders to translate player insights, business objectives, and market opportunities into actionable game direction and priorities.
• Drive cross‑disciplinary working groups with clear goals, holding implementation of content releases and sophisticated systems accountable to a core vision and quality bar with kindness and candor.
• Represent Hearthstone’s creative vision with senior Blizzard leadership, communicating strategic plans, performance insights, risks, and opportunities while helping drive alignment across the broader organization.
• Develop an understanding of the game’s community to identify common points of friction and opportunities to deliver improvements to the overall player experience.
• Monitor the state of the game through player feedback, community sentiment, user research, telemetry, and business performance data to inform strategic direction and prioritization.
• Establish and maintain a creative environment, fostering a culture of experimentation, accountability, and success.
• Cultivate the skills of those working with you, constantly finding opportunities to help them improve their craft.

Minimum Requirements

• 12+ years of professional game design experience, with at least 4 years in a senior leadership, director‑level, or comparable role within the gaming industry.
• Professional genre‑relevant experience with competitive PvP strategy games and large‑scale live‑service titles.
• Demonstrated success leading a live‑service game with recurring content releases, player feedback loops, data‑informed iteration, and long‑term player engagement goals.
• Proven ability to lead, grow, and inspire design teams, championing design craft while collaborating effectively with cross‑functional teams.
• Deep understanding of “games as service” and the live‑service loop, especially through the lens of free‑to‑play games.
• Exceptional ability to influence and align diverse stakeholder groups, including executive leadership, product, publishing, marketing, user research, and analytics teams.
• Strong project management skills and ability to maintain a strategic vision.
• Being an advocate for simple, intuitive, and future‑proof design, confident in speaking up or giving voice to dissenting opinions with clarity and respect.
• Commitment to creating a safe space for collaboration, communication, and creativity across all subject areas and departments.

Extra Points

• Passion for and professional experience with trading card games (TCGs) or collectible card games (CCGs).
• Previous professional experience working in AAA game engines (e.g., Unreal, Unity, etc.).
• A background in math, content design, economy design, or live ops.
• Strong documentation philosophies and strategies to evangelize your designs.
• Familiarity with user experience and user interface design principles.
• Active player of a variety of titles, especially mobile turn‑based strategy games and collectible card games.
• Enthusiastic and knowledgeable about Hearthstone.

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.

Rewards

We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well‑being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered!

• 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 $136,880.00 - $253,260.00 Annual.

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.

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 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. 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.

Blizzard Entertainment® is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software. After establishing the Blizzard Entertainment label in 1994, the company quickly became one of the most popular and well‑respected makers of computer games. By focusing on creating well‑designed, highly enjoyable entertainment experiences, Blizzard Entertainment has maintained an unparalleled reputation for quality since its inception.