Video Game Producer

Working Schedule

• Video Game Producers may work full-time, with overtime needed if a game’s development is running behind schedule. They typically work in offices and collaborate with team members in-person or virtually.  

Typical Duties

• Source suitable talent, including designers, building engineers, artists, and programmers
• Meet with teams to discuss storylines and characters
• Study target consumer demographics to understand who games will be made for and marketed to
• Raise money to fund projects; oversee and manage budgets, as applicable
• Establish a schedule with clear goals and deadlines
• Ensure progress is being made and which teams are responsible for which goals
• Facilitate collaboration across various teams and resolve disputes as needed
• Set up test environments to gain feedback, ensure player expectations are met and discover flaws and bugs
• Negotiate contracts with game publishers and employees/contractors
• Work with publishers as ideas evolve or change to ensure they agree
• Oversee or manage various aspects of game projects
• Organize press releases; handle the business and marketing side of the development with efficiency 
• Be familiar with intellectual property rights, laws, and licensing requirements
• Understand how games are distributed and marketed across various platforms, including mobile apps, PC games, downloadable games for consoles, and physical games sold in stores
• Manage LiveOps for games

Additional Responsibilities

• Have a strong working knowledge of all aspects of game development
• Work with animators and marketers to ensure suitable graphics are used for ads
• Collaborate with teams to come up with workable fixes that can be implemented within a feasible budget and timeframe
• Understand budgeting, planning, timelines, and project management
• Share, maintain, and organize documentation and files, including revision histories and updates, as needed

Soft Skills

• Attention to detail
• Collaboration 
• Communication skills
• Creativity
• Negotiation skills
• Organization skills
• Perceptiveness 
• Presenting 
• Problem-solving 
• Time management 

Technical Skills

• Familiarity with marketing and advertising principles
• Familiarity with budgeting and project management software
• Familiarity with legal terms and contracts
• Knowledge of gaming and gaming culture
• Some computer programming knowledge may be useful 

• Video game design companies (such as Nintendo, Rockstar Games, Electronic Arts, Activision, Sony, Ubisoft, Sega, Capcom, Bandai, Mojang, Epic Games, etc.)

Without Video Game Producers, we wouldn’t have amazing games and series like Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, Pokémon, Fortnite, Minecraft, Call of Duty, Sonic, and so many others! The video game industry exploded into the mainstream in the early 1980s and has since turned into a multi-billion dollar enterprise. Indeed, many games have launched entire empires of their own, like Pokémon, which has raked in over $90 billion as a media franchise with books, trading cards, TV shows, apparel, and tons of other merchandise. 

The field has become crowded as thousands of companies now compete for customers. Meanwhile, as game and console prices skyrocket, Video Game Producers have the heavy burden of figuring out what the next big hit could be. They must then convince others to invest their time and resources to develop the concept, which can be a risky endeavor. When a game makes it big, producers are celebrated…but when games flounder it can be a reputational blow. 

Consider the cautionary tale of former game designer Howard Scott Warshaw. Though not a producer, Warshaw has been unfairly crticized for decades after creating E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial on a very rushed timeline for Atari back in 1982. Generally cited as the worst game ever made, E.T. has the bonus honor of being blamed for leading to the video game crash of 1983 which bankrupted many companies. Warshaw was really just a scapegoat who took the fall for a greedy company that had set him up for failure. Still, the legacy of that single crisis ruined his career in the industry.

As people stayed home more during the height of the Covid pandemic, video game sales spiked. Many discovered the joy and stress relief that gameplay provides, which has continued to aid the already popular industry! Games like Grand Theft Auto and Fortnite have become sales juggernauts, reaping massive profits enabling them to partner up with musicians and actors. 

For example, GTA 5, though almost a decade old, got a new lease on life via a unique collaboration with hip-hop star Dr. Dre, whose exclusive music could be unlocked by fans through gameplay. Fortnite’s recent partnership with Hollywood icon Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson delighted players by allowing them to unlock The Rock’s character “skin” and become the armored hero “The Foundation.” 

Video Game Producers have to constantly seek timely collaborations with trending and well-established entertainers who can grab attention and connect games with modern players. Some cross promotions might seem odd at first, yet pay off because of their sheer silliness (Exhibit A: Fortnite’s “Rickrollin’” collab with singer-turned-meme sensation Rick Astley). These gambits require producers who really have their pulse on what’s hot and what’s funny at the time in the ever-changing gaming culture.

In their youth, Video Game Producers probably enjoyed — you guessed it — gaming! In fact, many continued their love affair with games and decided to pursue careers in the industry. In addition to video games, some may also have enjoyed computer programming, graphic design, board games, and learning the “behind-the-scenes” of how things get made. 

Other traits many producers share are persuasiveness and collaboration. Producers in all industries must be experts in the fine art of negotiating and getting people from different backgrounds on the same page. Such teamwork skills are often learned through group activities in school.