VP, Trading Card Games

Fanatics Betting & Gaming; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 259,000 - 329,000; Full time

Job summary

Fanatics TCG, a Seattle-based trading card game studio within the Fanatics Collectibles family, is seeking an executive leader to own the creative vision, design integrity, and commercial success of its flagship franchise. You will guide cross-functional teams from world-building to long-range roadmaps and make critical decisions balancing ambition, experience, and business impact.

You will collaborate with product, publishing, and finance to shape rarity architectures, cadence, and financial

Qualifications

• 15+ years in games leadership roles.
• Owned a game that shipped and sustained.
• Strong creative/design credibility and debate skills.
• Proven shipping cadence for live or set-based products.
• Able to operate in ambiguous white space and set boundaries in real-time.
• Respects players and prioritizes long-term game health.
• Excellent communication with creative, commercial and exec teams.

Responsibilities

• Own the creative and product vision for a game franchise from core design to long-range roadmap.
• Make final shipping decisions balancing creative ambition, player experience, and business KPIs.
• Lead franchise development planning: multi-year sets, milestones, resourcing, cadence.
• Collaborate with product, operations, and commercial leadership on rarity, config, and manufacturing limits.
• Share accountability for franchise performance with finance and leadership on forecasting and product mix.
• Partner with publishing on launch strategy, live support, and organized play.
• Represent franchise to studio and Fanatics leadership with clarity on vision and risks.
• Be the public voice for the game with players, partners, and the hobby ecosystem.

Skills

Executive leadership

Franchise development

Trading card games

Stakeholder management

Live service planning

Job description

About Us

Fanatics is building a leading global digital sports platform. We ignite the passions of global sports fans and maximize the presence and reach for our hundreds of sports partners globally by offering products and services across Fanatics Commerce, Fanatics Collectibles, and Fanatics Betting & Gaming, allowing sports fans to Buy, Collect, and Bet. Through the Fanatics platform, sports fans can buy licensed fan gear, jerseys, lifestyle and streetwear products, headwear, and hardgoods; collect physical and digital trading cards, sports memorabilia, and other digital assets; and bet as the company builds its Sportsbook and iGaming platform. Fanatics has an established database of over 100 million global sports fans; a global partner network with approximately 900 sports properties, including major national and international professional sports leagues, players associations, teams, colleges, college conferences and retail partners, 2,500 athletes and celebrities, and 200 exclusive athletes; and over 2,000 retail locations, including its Lids retail stores. Our more than 22,000 employees are committed to relentlessly enhancing the fan experience and delighting sports fans globally.

About the Company

Fanatics Collectibles is a new company operating at the intersection of collectibles, culture, and technology. Backed by world-class investors, operators, and sports & entertainment partners, we are building the global leader in next-generation collectibles. As part of the broader Fanatics ecosystem, we leverage a digital sports platform that spans over 900 sports properties and engages more than 81 million fans. Together, we are reimagining every part of the collectibles experience for fans, partners, and creators.

About the Team

Fanatics TCG is a new Seattle-based trading card game studio within the Fanatics Collectibles family, founded by industry veterans with a long-term mandate: to build enduring franchises that live across tabletop, digital, community, and culture. We’re looking for the most skilled and passionate talent in the games industry and beyond to help us create the best trading card games in the world.

Who We’re Looking For

We’re seeking a visionary executive leader for our second flagship trading card game. You’ve built worlds and shipped games before - and you’ve seen what separates the franchises that last from the ones that just launch. As VP of Trading Card Games, you’re accountable to the game’s creative vision, design integrity, and commercial success. You are a highly effective leader across disciplines, with sharp business instincts and a keen sense of what makes a franchise endure.

Responsibilities

• Own the creative and product vision for a game franchise, from core game design and world-building through set architecture, long-range franchise roadmap
• Serve as the final decision-maker on what ships, balancing creative ambition, player experience, and business KPIs
• Own the franchise development plan, optimizing for long-term ecosystem health: multi-year set pipeline, milestone structure, resourcing, and the tradeoffs required to keep a sustained release cadence with minimal impact to quality
• Partner with product, print operations, and commercial leadership on rarity architecture, product configuration, and manufacturing constraints, translating between creative intent and physical execution
• Share accountability for the franchise’s commercial performance, partnering with commercial and finance leadership on forecasting, product mix, and long-range planning, and making creative decisions with a clear view of their business consequences
• Partner with the VP of Publishing on launch strategy, live support, and organized play so that how the game is played and supported reflects how it was designed
• Represent the franchise to studio and Fanatics leadership - articulating vision, progress, risk, and the case for investment with clarity and conviction
• Act as a public voice for the game with players, retail partners, creators, and the broader hobby ecosystem

Qualifications & Experience

• 15+ years in games, including significant time leading a title or franchise as an Executive Producer, Studio Head, GM, or equivalent single-owner role
• Demonstrated ownership of a game that shipped and sustained
• Deep craft credibility with creative and design leaders. You may come from design, production, or creative direction, but you hold your own in a mechanics debate and know the difference between a real design problem and a preference
• Track record of shipping on a recurring cadence (live service, seasonal, or set-based)
• Comfort operating in white space. You’re joining a studio that is still defining itself, and you’ll be drawing boundaries with peers in real time and making calls without complete information
• Genuine respect for players as a core operating value, with the instincts and the spine to advocate for the long-term health of the game in rooms focused on shorter time scales
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills across creative, commercial, and executive audiences

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading a trading card game, tabletop game, or hybrid physical + digital franchise
• Familiarity with the operational realities of physical product: manufacturing lead times, print planning, and the constraints they impose on creative
• Experience standing up a studio or a new franchise from early stage through launch
• Background with organized play, competitive communities, or long-lived player ecosystems
• Hands-on participation in the hobby, with the feel for play, value, and fandom that comes from time spent inside it
• Passion for trading card games, collectibles, and fan culture

Location

All employees of Fanatics TCG are expected to be onsite in our Seattle office five days per week.

The salary range represents base pay only and does not include short-term or long-term incentive compensation. This salary range is specific to Seattle and may not be applicable to other locations. When determining base pay, as part of a final compensation package, we consider several factors such as location, experience, qualifications, and training. For information about our benefits, please visit https://benefitsatfanatics.com/

Seattle Salary Range

$258,750—$328,900 USD

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