Principal Game Designer (Genre Specialist)

Reposted 6 Days Ago
Be an Early Applicant
2 Locations
In-Office
Senior level
Gaming • Software • Metaverse
The Role
The Principal Game Analyst will lead GaaS product design and monetization strategy, conduct market research, and develop methodologies to enhance game performance.
Summary Generated by Built In
Business UnitTencent Games was established in 2003. We are a leading global platform for game development, operations and publishing, and the largest online game community in China.
Tencent Games has developed and operated over 140 games. We provide cross-platform interactive entertainment experience for more than 800 million users in over 200 countries and regions around the world. Honor of Kings, PUBG MOBILE, and League of Legends, are some of our most popular titles around the world.
Meanwhile, we actively promote the development of esports industry, work with global partners to build an open, collaborative and symbiotic industrial ecology, and create high-quality digital life experiences for players.

About the Hiring TeamGame Research Center(GRC) is a department focusing on game industry study, game analysis, game design research, data analysis and game development supporting. We’re one of the world’s leading research facility in game industry, building a global knowledge tank to help our teams make better decisions. We’re looking for innovative and passionate team members who love all kinds of games and have insight about the challenging global market.What the Role Entails

This role sits within the GRC (Game Research Center) team. Its core mission is to bring in a highly authoritative game design leader with extensive hands-on development experience across global shooter, casual competitive and RPG game genres.

We are looking for a true genre expert who can help define the next generation of gameplay standards. This individual will provide Tencent’s overseas portfolio with stronger strategic direction on product design trends, solve critical design challenges in active development, and identify opportunities for the next evergreen game franchise.

Key Responsibilities1. Gameplay and Systems Design
  • Define and refine best-in-class minute-to-minute gameplay experience, including controls, movement, and player feedback across visual, audio, and haptic layers.
  • Build scalable and deeply engaging gameplay systems, including combat systems, character control, level interaction, mission flow, progression systems, and long-term engagement loops.
  • Lead the design evaluation and strategic improvement of core gameplay pillars, including 3C, combat/system design, level design, mission structure, world interaction, and player progression.
  • Ensure systems are accessible, strategically deep, highly replayable, and fun over the long term.
2. Genre Expertise and Design Benchmarking
  • Analyze leading global games in global shooter, casual competitive and RPG game genres, and turn those insights into reusable design frameworks.
  • Set high-quality design benchmarks for core projects, including 3C, system interaction, and world exploration pacing.
3. Project Support and Evaluation
  • Work directly with project teams to solve critical design problems, especially in GaaS systems, gameplay innovation, and economy balance.
  • Review prototypes and milestone builds to ensure projects are both fun and distinctive in the global market.
  • Provide hands-on design consultation to teams in development, with particular focus on high-priority shooter-related challenges, while also supporting selected opportunities in innovative casual and RPG projects.
  • Help identify genre opportunities, product risks, and improvement areas early through expert review, structured feedback, and design modeling.
4. Industry Leadership
  • Represent the company through thought leadership at industry events such as GDC, Devcom, and similar conferences.
  • Use your industry reputation and network to connect with top global design talent and strengthen Tencent’s influence in game development.
Who We Look For
Experience
  • 10+ years of experience in game design. with at least the past 5 years spent as a lead designer or core systems owner on globally recognized large-scale game projects.
  • Proven success in at least two of the following areas:
    • Shooter games, with strong practical experience in level design, 3C, combat design, and/or gameplay systems design
    • Casual competitive games, especially products involving creative sandbox, party royale, social-creative, or AI-enhanced gameplay experiences
    • RPG games, with strong experience in narrative design, world-building, and/or quest design.
  • Experience working on major global IPs or well-known live game franchises.
  • Strong industry recognition, ideally demonstrated through thought leadership and speaking engagements at major industry conferences or forums.
Core Skills
  • Strong ability to design systems from the ground up that support long-term player engagement.
  • Deep understanding of gameplay loops such as combat, progression, mission structure, exploration, social interaction, player creativity, and long-term retention.
  • Strong expertise in 3C feel, including responsiveness, combat impact, camera, and audiovisual feedback.
  • Strong understanding of hardcore players, competitive fairness, and player communities.
Soft Skills
  • Fluent English, with the ability to work effectively with global development teams.
  • Strong structured thinking: able to turn creative ideas into clear design documents and system models.
  • Strong communication and collaboration skills, with a practical and supportive approach.
Equal Employment Opportunity at Tencent

As an equal opportunity employer, we firmly believe that diverse voices fuel our innovation and allow us to better serve our users and the community. We foster an environment where every employee of Tencent feels supported and inspired to achieve individual and common goals.

Skills Required

  • 5+ years of experience in GaaS, economy design, or monetization design
  • Proven experience launching GaaS products as a core or lead designer
  • Strong understanding of monetization models including IAP, Battle Pass, and Subscription models

Tencent Compensation & Benefits Highlights

The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Tencent and has not been reviewed or approved by Tencent.

  • Healthcare Strength Healthcare coverage is positioned as a standout, with strong PPO options and relatively low prescription costs highlighted for U.S. plans. This suggests the medical offering can be a meaningful component of the overall rewards package for U.S.-based employees.
  • Retirement Support Retirement support is framed as competitive in the U.S., with employer match details called out as an item to confirm in writing. This indicates retirement benefits can be a notable strength where applicable.
  • Strong & Reliable Incentives Performance-linked incentives and share-based awards are repeatedly included as part of the compensation model, alongside potential RSU and sign-on eligibility in certain roles. This points to total rewards often extending beyond base pay through variable and equity components.

Tencent Insights

Am I A Good Fit?
beta
Get Personalized Job Insights.
Our AI-powered fit analysis compares your resume with a job listing so you know if your skills & experience align.

The Company
HQ: Shenzhen
107,879 Employees
Year Founded: 1998

What We Do

Tencent uses technology to enrich the lives of Internet users. Our communications and social platforms Weixin and QQ connect users with each other, with digital content and daily life services in just a few clicks. Our high performance advertising platform helps brands and marketers reach out to hundreds of millions of consumers in China. Our financial technology and business services support our partners' business growth and assist their digital upgrade. We invest heavily in talent and technological innovation, actively participating in the development of the Internet industry. Tencent was founded in Shenzhen, China, in 1998, and listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong since June 2004.

Similar Jobs

Legora Logo Legora

Forward Deployed Engineer - SE

Artificial Intelligence • Legal Tech • Software
In-Office
2 Locations
700 Employees

Legora Logo Legora

Account Executive

Artificial Intelligence • Legal Tech • Software
In-Office
London, Greater London, England, GBR
700 Employees

Northslope Logo Northslope

Deployment Strategist

Artificial Intelligence • Information Technology • Software • Analytics • Consulting • Generative AI
Hybrid
London, Greater London, England, GBR
100 Employees

Northslope Logo Northslope

Software Engineer

Artificial Intelligence • Information Technology • Software • Analytics • Consulting • Generative AI
Hybrid
London, Greater London, England, GBR
100 Employees

Similar Companies Hiring

Hanover Park Thumbnail
Artificial Intelligence • Fintech • Software • Financial Services
New York, New York
42 Employees
Kepler  Thumbnail
Fintech • Software
New York, New York
6 Employees
Onshore Thumbnail
Artificial Intelligence • Fintech • Software • Financial Services
New York, New York
60 Employees

Sign up now Access later

Create Free Account

Please log in or sign up to report this job.

Create Free Account