Staff Game Designer – World & Community
Who we are
At Fortis Games we aspire to make great games that bring people together while redefining how game companies work. We believe in building a sense of belonging through our games, their communities, and how we operate and treat each other. Through our game communities, we will create powerful connections and lasting memories. We will foster a culture of diversity, equity and belonging where together our diverse skills, experiences and backgrounds impact the games we make.
We are an early but mighty organization with a leadership team of game industry veterans. There are many opportunities for you to have a big impact on the products we'll be making as well as the overall direction of the company. If you're passionate about tackling difficult problems with direct and thoughtful communication and team first mentality, we may be the right place for you.
About the role
As a Staff Game Designer – World & Community, you will effectively be a dungeon master for millions of players. You will define, design, and build the systems, features, and content that bring our world to life—connecting players to each other and to something larger than themselves through meaningful play.
You will lead the design of living-world systems spanning social structures (including guilds), content systems, and live-operated events and experiences. Working at the intersection of game design, narrative, and community, you will create features that evolve as player behavior, live events, and community dynamics actively shape the world.
What you will achieve
- Lead the design of living world systems that evolve based on player and guild actions, creating a sense of shared history and consequence.
- Own an integrated guild system where guild leadership decisions influence content, events, and the state of the world.
- Create scalable content frameworks that introduce new interaction points, stories, and world changes without relying on one-off bespoke content.
- Craft how narrative and game systems intertwine, using mechanics, events, and world state to tell stories rather than relying solely on text or cutscenes.
- Partner closely with community, narrative, product, and live ops teams to ensure gameplay and online community spaces influence each other in meaningful ways.
- Deliver clear design documentation and direction that enables engineering and art partners to efficiently build, ship, and iterate on mobile-optimized living content.
- Translate player behavior, sentiment, and community feedback into new world states, story beats, or systemic changes that reinforce player impact.
What you'll need to be successful
- 7+ years of professional game design experience, with strong systems design fundamentals and a holistic view of player experience.
- Proven experience in narrative design, world building, or live content systems, ideally in games where player choice impacts the world.
- A mobile-first design sensibility, with experience creating depth, social connection, and replayability within short, repeatable sessions.
- High agency and self-direction, with the ability to own features end-to-end—from concept and prototyping through implementation, tuning, and live iteration.
- Strong creative instincts for storytelling through mechanics, systems, and player interaction rather than purely authored narrative.
- Deep empathy for players and communities, with an understanding of how social dynamics, leadership, and identity form in shared worlds.
- Clear, structured communication skills and experience collaborating cross-functionally with engineering, art, narrative, production, and community teams.
- Bonus: experience in mobile games, live service development, ARGs, D&D or DM-style world building, or community-driven online worlds.
Why join us
There are many reasons to join us, but here are a few:
- We strongly believe we are changing how games studios operate and at the core of what we do is making great games that create a connected community
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We're not just about making Games Where You Belong. We're also about building communities where our people belong. That's why Fortis is a thriving environment that celebrates diversity, embraces inclusivity, and fosters growth.
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Build and grow with a seasoned team of accomplished talent who have left an impactful mark in their disciplines, both in and out of gaming
Fortis is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable law, and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.