SHAN JIANG

TONIGHT AT 6:30 PM join us for an improvised version of PVP Circuit and help us rebuild our local community brick by brick. I still can't believe I get to work in the video game industry. My 6-year-old would laugh, and then cry once she realized what it means to work in the creative technology sector. That's why IMO everyone could use some levity during these unprecedented times. Join us for a fun evening to raise funds for the Trevor Project. Event link >>> https://lnkd.in/g7tBuP6d Frequently Asked Questions: What if I can't attend the event? - If you can't make it, please consider purchasing a ticket to help us raise money for charity or get one on behalf of someone impacted by layoffs. What if I want to join but can't justify the cost? - If you want to join but find the cost prohibitive, DM me and we'll make it happen (see point above). Do I have to pitch at the event? - No, you don't have to pitch if you prefer to observe. It’s a great way to see how it's done. Will there be another event like this? - We plan to host our community again, but I can't specify if this event will be the focus. #gamesindustry #event #comedy <3

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Episode 3 of The Talent Game podcast is live with Mary Chan (prev. Operations Director at Lightforge Games)! Mary takes us on her inspiring career journey, from her time at JPMorgan to breaking into the gaming industry. She opens up about the challenges she faced along the way—navigating a job market lacking salary transparency and grappling with concerns around cultural fit. At Lightforge Games, Mary made it her mission to improve the candidate experience, and in our conversation, she shares practical insights on how to attract and retain top talent by prioritising transparency, competitive benefits, and a healthy work-life balance. She also reveals the key traits she values in candidates—adaptability, innovation, and collaboration—essential qualities that drive success in today's fast-paced industry. Key Takeaways ✅ Transitioning from one industry to another requires identifying transferable skills and finding a company that values those skills. ✅ Salary transparency is crucial during the job search process to ensure alignment between candidates and companies. ✅ Candidate experience plays a significant role in attracting talent. Transparency, work-life balance, and employee recognition are important for retaining talent. ✅ Personality traits like adaptability, innovation, and collaboration are highly valued in the gaming industry.

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🚀 You have to check out this incredible project update from Mark Tucker at T-Minus Zero Entertainment! The team's passion and dedication are front and center in this milestone. Updates like these are what make #GameDevelopment so exciting. 💪 Curious about the latest progress or craving a behind-the-scenes look at a high-energy, innovative project? Don't miss Mark's full update below - it’s worth every second! 🙌👏 #GameDev #ProjectMilestone #Teamwork #VideoGames

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🖐 5 Questions with EA SPORTS FC’s Head of Engineering! ⚙ Jinsong Li, Head of Engineering for EA SPORTS FC, discusses the making of EA SPORTS FC 25 and careers in tech! ➡ Check out the full Electronic Arts (EA) article here: https://shorturl.at/P04QK

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Friends, I’m excited to share the most accurate geographic mapping of open video games jobs ever created - a project two years in the making. A quick story. In October 2022, THE GREAT (always in caps) Dean Takahashi asked me, "Amir, can you tell me where all the open roles are in the games industry? I’ve never been able to get accurate information on that in all my years covering the space." It was a great question, but I couldn’t answer it at the time. I had just launched the community and presented v1.0 of the Games Jobs Workbook, which listed only 400 (!) jobs. To answer Dean’s question, I needed two more years of effort: 1. A method to accurately map 95-99%+ of the industry's roles semi-automatically. 2. A way to verify this accuracy. 3. A process to extract location data for each job at an individual level. I finally have an answer for you Dean! Why is this different from all other mappings of the industry? 1. Other mappings lack comprehensive coverage of underlying roles. 2. Others only show the number of companies in each area, not actual job openings or live hiring data, as presented here. 3. Other mappings categorize companies at a company location level rather than mapping every single role one-by-one as I have done As a final note, I’m currently updating the Games Jobs Workbook itself. If you notice some discrepancies, it’s because this data is more current. Without further ado, here are some of the main findings as to open roles in the games industry: - We can geomap 14,162 open games roles. - With the ability to now map at a role level, 1,980 games roles (14%) are remote, and 12,182 (86%) are not. - By continent, the most games jobs are in Asia (4,601), Europe (4,008), and North America (3,248). These three regions account for 84% of the jobs. - At a country level, the most games jobs are in the United States (2,316), China (1,965), England (1,041), Canada (897), Japan (588), and Poland (456). These six countries account for just over half (51%) of the jobs. - By state or region, just for North America, the most jobs are in California (1,113), Quebec (528), Washington State (271), British Columbia (217), and North Carolina (155). These five states and regions represent 16% of worldwide games jobs and 71% of the jobs in the United States and Canada. - California alone holds 48% of the games jobs in the United States. - The ten biggest games cities are Shenzhen (946), Shanghai (629), Montreal (515), Tokyo (428), London (383), Warsaw (239), Vancouver (209), Bangalore (202), Istanbul (181), and Barcelona (180). These ten cities comprise 28% of worldwide games jobs. As a gesture of gratitude to Dean, Gina Joseph, and Eva Tucker for their support throughout this two-year journey, as I built layer upon layer of data and analytics to produce this, I’m sharing the raw results with the community. Enjoy! https://lnkd.in/eT-ZQbag

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I am very sorry to hear of three games layoff situations from 8/28/24 - 8/30/24: Ballistic Moon, Ouka Studios (parent NetEase Games), and Toadman Interactive --- FOR THOSE AFFECTED - WELCOME TO AMIR SATVAT'S GAMES COMMUNITY "Number 1 For 'Games Jobs Resources'" - Google Search We will not rest until every gamer is employed. OUR TOOLS WORK - We reach over 400,000 unique viewers monthly and nearly 4,000,000 unique viewers annually across all platforms. - Our games community has facilitated over 2,500 jobs and 46,000 coaching conversations, the largest impact of any games individual or community in the universe. - Our data shows that we can double your job-seeking success from 6% to 12% on average for those who engage with all our tools over a multi-month period. - Over 20% of all trackable games jobs found touch some part of our community. - Always free (nothing wrong with those who charge; just our choice), always with love, and always without ulterior motives. AMIRSATVAT.COM - Our main hub offers 19 resources for games employment assistance with an uplifting, easy-to-use design. - Use our template for Games Org Support Posts (Category 4, Resource 13) to maximize the visibility of those affected at your games company. We have completed 105 posts highlighting over 2,500 candidates. Discord - Join us at discord.gg/amirsatvat, a complementary, live, games career support community with over 5,500 members. Currently open to new members. LinkedIn - Follow me and join the discussion here on LinkedIn, with over 95,000 members and 1-3 daily posts providing support and career assistance in the games industry, the largest Top Voice games community on the platform. How the Games Community Can Help - Spread the Word: Reshares and comments increase resource visibility. - Join Our Movement: Choose one or several of the 17 ways to help gamers on AMIRSATVAT.COM under "How You Can Help," or provide advice on Discord.

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Our f1000 research paper on indie game development, "Building Your Dream Team: How Indie Teams Can Form, and Thrive Together," is now indexed in PubMed of NIH! Kudos to my co-author Afia Adiba ! 🎉 The paper delves into the challenges faced by indie game development teams striving to create blockbuster games. It outlines a three-layer approach focusing on finding and hiring suitable team members, and fostering a productive and harmonious work environment. Have you explored our methodology? Share your thoughts on our approach derived from experience! Check out the publication here: https://lnkd.in/gFkEtpBn #IndieGameDevelopment #DreamTeam #GameDev #PubMed #NIH #ResearchPaper

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Stoked to reach the milestone of 50+ player reviews on Hive Jump 2: Survivors, just a day after 1.0 launch. https://lnkd.in/g2yMxnDa That "Very Positive" review label matters a lot to Steam when deciding how "valid" our game is (not to mention impacting customer perceptions). It's a hard label to achieve. It has to come from paying players. It excludes any players who received a promotional key (hence the two numbers in the GIF). It also filters by your languages preferences and region, to some extent, too. So, yes, stoked to say the least that our team at Graphite Lab has met this mark with our first sequel. Of course, if you want to add to the good vibes with your own review, all you have to do is pop over to Steam and for the price of a latte you too can see what all the fuss is about. https://lnkd.in/g2yMxnDa If you are curious about the impact reviews have on games released through Steam, take a look through this 2022 article. It gets right to the point and (for the most part) is still valid today. https://lnkd.in/g9D5feGC

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Of the many notable experiences from #MDEV, the Producer Careers panel I did with Lilly Arredondo, Angela D., and Joe Truesdale was one of the highlights! Reflecting on the main points, here are three takeaways I wanted to share: 1. There is no single way to become a game Producer. "Origin stories" are varied and sometimes surprising! If you want to become a Producer, start being a producer where you are: organize your team, schedule milestones, coordinate and connect the dots with other people, be the one your teammates come to when they want to understand what's going on, what to prioritize, etc. because you have a solid grasp on whatever portion of the project you're responsible for. Or jump in on a game jam team - tight timelines need maximum efficiency and most teams don't have the benefit of a producer keeping track of the project. 2. Let curiosity and willingness to learn drive your career path. There are so many directions to take in production and there is always more to learn. Even when you think you've got things figured out, new teams, new people, changes in the industry, etc. will always present new opportunities to learn. Every new project will present different challenges and shifts that will force you to expand your production "toolkit". Lean into that need for flexibility to gain a wider understanding of the possibilities. 3. Look for mentorship wherever you can. There is always someone out there more experienced and willing to help. Reach out and ask for even a small amount of their time (I'm almost always open to giving a 1/2 hour to mentor budding Producers!). You never know how that relationship may grow or who they may introduce you to for additional help. You will need to drive this, so take the steps to make it happen - most professionals are friendly and open to helping, but they won't be reaching out to you (Amir Satvat's mentorship resources linked in the comments). What else did you take away from the panel? I'd love to hear your feedback, if you attended!

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 received FOUR nominations for next month's 2024 'The Game Awards!' 🎮✨ 🎧 Best Audio Design – For the explosive soundscapes that immerse players in every battle. Every reload, explosion, and stealthy footstep wouldn’t be the same without the genius behind the audio. 👥 Best Multiplayer Game – Redefining the multiplayer experience yet again with modes that bring players together and keep them on their toes. If you’ve squad-ed up, you know the magic. 🔥 Best Action Game – Where adrenaline meets flawless execution. Black Ops 6 doesn’t just raise the bar—it rebuilds it. 💡 Innovation in Accessibility – For making sure everyone can jump into the action. This one’s about breaking barriers and ensuring the joy of gaming is universal (shoutout to Steve Saylor!) Huge congrats to the incredible teams at #RavenSoftware, #Treyarch, and our many partners who made this possible. #TheGameAwards #BlackOps6 #CallOfDuty #GamingCommunity #GameAwards2024 #AccessibilityInGaming

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It is awful. Truly awful. Around 15% of Intel Corporation's staff (meaning over 15,000 people) are facing layoffs this year. I want to provide as much support as I can about this happening. I know that Intel is not a games studio, but the amount of support they are giving games studios is not to be under-estimated. When I worked at other games studios in the past, we had wonderful working relationships with them, getting support through driver optimisations, supporting technical tests, even offering to feature our games on their network and providing exclusive access to gamers to our closed alpha or closed beta tests. This kind of relationship was special. Regardless of which areas of Intel are going to feel layoffs, with 15% of the workforce, that will be felt everywhere in the organisation. Those of you who worked even remotely in gaming, please make use of my resources below: 🥇First, reach out to us at People Can Fly Studio, we have many roles open right now in Canada, the UK, Ireland and Europe, please check them out here: https://lnkd.in/eWpV5PbA 🥈Next, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past months I have created 9 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines, and I would urge you to check them out, if anything just to see what would be available to you: https://lnkd.in/eWvkdYjk You can find over 6,000 jobs there. 🥉 Third, the Ultimate list of Video Games Career Resources: This should be your one-stop shop for all information. My dear friend Amir Satvat maintains these documents, he is a legend for doing this - please check them out: https://amirsatvat.com/ I urge you to check out the areas in particular about CV support and mentoring, as these will help you no matter what industry you are hailing from or are looking into going next. 🎖 Finally, do not give up. Ever. No matter how dark things may look right now, I KNOW you will get through this, you have got this! 👊 Remember you are not alone. If you need help, advice, or even an ear to listen, we're here for you. Always! ➡ A request to my community, please can I ask you to repost this post to your colleagues and friends, so that we can get as many into jobs as possible! And please comment if you or your studio are currently hiring - let's help each other! Much love ❤️ #intel #layoffs

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💡There's undeniable merit in the idea that employees who don't live in fear of layoffs are far more likely to excel compared to those who lack job security or access to transparent leadership. 🤔 At this precarious time of layoffs and studio closures… it is a tough market to enter as a new startup. Simply Sweet Games is being bootstrapped, and supported literally through the generous contributions of Women in Games International (WIGI) and Amazon Games, advisors and our community! We’re honoured to receive invitations to meet at events and to gain mentorship and opportunities to passionately pitch our vision. It will take more than the industry's challenges—like widespread layoffs, inflation, poor leadership, and corporate greed—to deter our mission of inclusivity and sustainability. We are going to persevere! Best of luck to everyone who is going to Gamescom! Be safe and have fun, keep your eyes peeled for Tina Merry 🔜 Gamescom, Joanie Kraut 🔜 Gamescom and many more fantastic leaders! 📢 Lastly, please join us later this month to support SSG’s mission of fostering inclusive teams and sustainable game productions. It’s not only beneficial for our industry's businesses but is, in my opinion, the right thing to do. I am grateful for the privilege to help lead in this space and to witness the rise of many inspiring indie developers emerging in the wake of numerous layoffs. There is a better way forward. Let’s get it done. 😊 P.S. Check out our website (www.simplysweetgames.ca) for more details or DM me for an invite! #Equity #Inclusivity #WomenInGames #Startup #Founder

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🚨Attention 2026 Grads! 🚨 Are you an art student, sound design student or research/data science graduate student interested in working in games?? 🎨🔊📈 Submit an application for the 2025 Riot Games U.S. Summer Internship Program hosted by the Riot University Programs team! (That’s us below!) 👊 😎 Available remote internship roles can be found on Riot's University Programs webpage, and the application deadline for these intern roles is Friday, January 10, 2025 at 11:59pm PT: https://lnkd.in/gB5rMshi Below is a list of all the resources I usually share with candidates who are looking to learn more about the Riot U.S. Summer Internship Program, and what it's like to be an artist at Riot. (All of these resources were created by the Riot University Programs team, former Riot interns, and various teams across Riot!) While we expand on this in Volume 2 and 3 of the Riot Internship Study Guide series, my best advice to students interested in applying for a Riot internship is the following: 1) Take time to reflect on why you are interested in working in games (and at Riot!), and why you are interested in pursuing your specific discipline/craft professionally. A thoughtful, personal response goes a long way ❤️ 2) Art Roles - Please prepare and organize your portfolio! Also make sure your portfolio is accessible! (i.e. no broken links) While most of these resources are tailored for Riot's U.S. Summer Internship Program, they contain great general advice for preparing for internship applications, interviews, and generally what it's like to work in the games industry. GLHF! - Sam, Mina Hur, Matt Kraus, and David McKenna #riotgames #riotintern #internship #intern #remote #games ________________________________________________ RESOURCES - Riot U.S. Summer Internship Program General:  - Internship Study Guide Vol 1: From Interns to Full-Time: https://lnkd.in/g7sVgbRW - Internship Study Guide Vol 2: Tips & Tricks for Applying: https://lnkd.in/gZH7uPi9 Art-Specific: - Internship Study Guide Vol 3: Potfolio Tips & Advice: https://lnkd.in/gnmeUZ6d - Riot Super Art Power Hour: https://lnkd.in/g5sHVFmZ - Riot Animation Team (RAT): https://lnkd.in/gnZbT8Bp - Riot Tech Interns 2024 (Technical Art): https://lnkd.in/gEDpcvNh

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At the heart of EVERYWHERE is ARCADIA! ARCADIA is our building tools, self-publishing system, and library of assets and community-made content. Check the basics of building in ARCADIA out in the video below! #gamedev #UGC #gamedevjobs

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😼 The news that over 10,000 employees, including those at prominent studios like Microsoft, Embracer, and Take-Two Interactive, have been laid off this year is astounding. And this significant trend underscores the challenging environment that Simply Sweet Games is entering. Nonetheless, we remain incredibly stubborn and well-informed of how the industry operates. 🙀 With thousands of employees affected across the gaming industry, we anticipate a healthy wave of new studios with charming, competitively priced games in a broad accessible indie games market, microgames, mobile games and streaming services. There's an increased emphasis on being human first, sustainability and inclusive production, which are positive developments to look forward to, and you should know that is our bread and butter. 😾 Even though the LATEST news about our funding efforts is disappointing, I did allow myself to feel sad about it for all of one day (and I am navigating my stages of grief healthily). Yes, it's tough, but this is far from the end. This experience allowed us to feel humble and rethink our goals at Simply Sweet Games. We are bootstrapping the company with a sweet mindset: ship fast, pivot, or die. We couldn't embark on this journey without our cheerleaders and lead angel investor, who bravely took a leap of faith with us because we believe in what we are doing, and the alternative is simply not an option. Stay tuned for more! Let's go Tina Merry AND TEAM! #startup #gamesindustry #hustle

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Episode 5 of The Talent Game podcast is live! 🥳 In this episode, Erla Gunnhildardóttir (Fractional CFO, Supercell, CCP Games) shares her inspiring journey into the gaming industry, starting with her love for board games and leading to her role at CCP Games. She opens up about her experience with layoffs at CCP, providing valuable insights into navigating financial planning and the emotional challenges during such times. Erla praises the leadership at CCP for their empathy, professionalism, and focus on maintaining a positive workplace culture despite difficult decisions. The conversation dives deep into the importance of company culture, with Erla emphasizing the role of leadership in shaping it through clear communication and setting behavioral expectations. She highlights the power of trust, psychological safety, and coaching in building high-performing teams. Erla also discusses how finance teams can play a strategic role beyond traditional back-office functions by fostering collaboration across departments. Key Takeaways ✅ Finance teams should be integrated into broader company functions, fostering collaboration rather than being siloed as a back-office role. ✅ Empathy and care are essential when navigating difficult situations, such as layoffs, to maintain a positive workplace culture. ✅ Effective leadership shapes workplace culture through clear values, communication, and behavioral expectations, fostering resilience in challenging times. ✅ Building high-performing teams requires trust, psychological safety, and coaching to enable team members to bring their whole selves to work. ✅ How candidates discuss their current or past employers during interviews reveals key insights into their mindset and attitudes.

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LinkedIn's New Gaming Adventure! LinkedIn has entered the gaming arena with the launch of three intriguing puzzle games – Pinpoint, Queens, and Crossclimb. These games are now available on both desktop and mobile platforms, adding a fun twist to the LinkedIn experience. Each game offers a unique mental challenge, including word association, trivia with wordplay, and a distinctive take on sudoku. This move reflects a broader trend in the digital content industry, as companies leverage gaming content to attract and retain users. Amid the challenges of generating revenue from traditional advertising, offering gaming content is seen as a strategic move to enhance user retention and possibly create new revenue streams in the future. LinkedIn's current strategy primarily focuses on user engagement without monetization. The games are free to play and embrace the social aspect of gaming by allowing users to view their connections' activity and engage in friendly competition through leaderboards. This approach represents a shift towards creating a more interactive and social experience within the professional networking platform. With the gaming landscape evolving across various industries, from digital news organizations to platforms like Netflix, LinkedIn's entry into gaming reflects an effort to adapt to user preferences and behaviors. As the company aims to deepen relationships and inject fun into the professional networking experience, it will be fascinating to see how these gaming features influence user engagement and potentially drive future business opportunities on the platform. https://lnkd.in/dsc7eePJ Play the games here https://lnkd.in/dqM7dBW4

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I like sharing the good news about the video game industry (because I know many people have been burned by working through it). Although, as a whole, the industry is expected to continue growing year after year. What do you think this means? The concept of diversity becomes the inevitable truth. Growth encompasses variety and innovation, bringing a richer palette of stories and experiences. This transformation is driven by a new wave of creators who are not just making games but also crafting cultural bridges. A fantastic example is the upcoming game 'Rooster', which celebrates Asian heritage in a deeply authentic way. The team behind Rooster has a shared vision of representing this culture through fun and accessible gameplay experiences, which aligns beautifully with broader industry trends toward inclusivity and representation. It seems like they love what they do to boot! If there was a clear path to surviving the video game market while also enriching the social impact of gaming, IMO, it would be to get behind and champion these vital initiatives. #diversity #equity #inclusivity #asianheritage #rooster

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Inclusive design, as defined by Google, involves methodologies that create products accessible to people of all backgrounds and abilities. My exploration of this concept began with conversations with Women in Games deepened through insights from Jenna "Jennissary" and Améliane F. C., and expanded during a memorable podcast episode with Community Clubhouse Worldwide. This episode (coming soon!) which is community focused features an amazing panel that included the insightful Anna Wright. The benefits of adopting inclusive design are clear: it opens our games to a broader audience, enhances the user experience, and expands market reach. Yet, its implementation is not as widespread as one might expect. This realization sparked a question: Why isn't inclusive design more universally embraced within the industry? It's a question I'm keen to explore further, as we consider the vast potential that inclusivity holds for gaming. #inclusivedesign

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