Blizzard might be hiring for a 3rd unannounced AAA PC/console game, action game w/ explorable world

• Blizzard currently have (at least) four games in the "Unannounced Projects" section of their job page, though today, what appears to be a fifth one has shown up.
• The existing four games are two mobile titles (all explicitly marked for mobile), Diablo 4 (all marked as being Diablo), and a new competitive FPS with vehicles and creatures (all of which explicitly mention the game is first person). The two new job postings from today are both marked with an "- Unannounced Project" label, which is not true of any other postings, and do not match the telltale signs of any of the other projects.
• The two jobs are "Lead/Senior Level Designer" and "Art Director". They describe an a new action game, which is not listed as being first person. Other descriptors include:
  • "The ideal candidate will have proven experience building immersive, explorable environments for modern AAA titles."
  • "Demonstrated mastery of level design processes including, but not limited to, level flow, engagement design, pacing, storytelling, etc."
  • "Passion for action games on console or PC." / "Real passion for action games."
  • "If you're ready to add your passion to a close-knit, collaborative community of artists, engineers, and designers whose sole goal is to make a truly immersive game experience, please read on. "
• Since this always comes up with new Blizzard games, especially among those who have not followed them historically, this is nigh assuredly an online game. Yes, I realize the job postings don't list this yet, but select people were 100% positive that Blizzard's new shooter was going to be a singleplayer Overwatch campaign, and then seemed very, very, very upset when it was listed as a competitive shooter in later job postings, so I'll just take this moment to remind everyone that Blizzard considers online very central to what they do. That said, I suspect this game would be co-op oriented given the descriptions thus far, but we don't have a ton to go on yet.
• Given these jobs just went up and they're for extremely senior positions, don't expect the game for like 4-5+ years.

LEAD / SR. LEVEL DESIGNER, UNANNOUNCED PROJECT
Unannounced Project•Irvine

Blizzard Entertainment is seeking a talented and passionate Lead/Sr. Level Designer to define and lead the world building for an unannounced project. As a Lead/Sr. Level Designer, you will foster Blizzard's core value of "Gameplay First" as you collaborate with a small team of designers, engineers, and artists responsible for crafting this unannounced project's world.

We are a team of passionate developers that highly value open-minded collaboration, direct feedback, and the eagerness to grab and drive a feature to Blizzard quality. As a level designer on the team, you will be reviewing feedback from playtests and collaborating with the design team to decide what actions to take. When particularly hard problems arise, you will draw upon the team's collective creativity to finalize a design that meets the game's needs.

The ideal candidate will have proven experience building immersive, explorable environments for modern AAA titles. By blending your mastery of level design with a critical eye for layout and art, you will rally and align teams around building epic, memorable worlds. Our Incubation teams work at a fast pace and are ripe with challenges to take on. Success in this role won't come easy, but for the right person, it could be the opportunity of a lifetime.

Your portfolio should include visual examples of your favorite game spaces that you have created in your career to date.

Responsibilities

• Own level design and world building from conception to the final stages of polish, facilitating communication and coordinating team members to ensure the vision is clearly defined and understood.
• Research, define, pitch, and evangelize level design/project goals and objectives, ensuring the game's creative pillars are captured.
• Partner with engineering to define and create tooling that effectively compliments Blizzard's world-class handcrafted level design.
• Build and lead a small team of level designers and world artists, recruiting and mentoring extraordinary talent, and fostering a team where you lead responsibly through positive example.
• Embrace Blizzard's core value of "Every voice matters," creating a safe space for collaboration, communication, and creativity across all disciplines and departments.

Requirements

• 5+ years' experience in the games industry working as level designer, shipping at least two AAA titles.
• Demonstrated mastery of level design processes including, but not limited to, level flow, engagement design, pacing, storytelling, etc.
• Strong understanding of level editing packages such as Maya, Unity, UDK, or other proprietary tools.
• Good spatial and layout design skills.
• Expert game design sensibilities.
• Ability to pitch game design concepts in a clear, detailed manner, through strong written and verbal skills.
• Experience using rapid prototyping to test feasibility of concepts.
• Passion for making games look and play great.
• Ability to self-critique and accept outside feedback.
• Self-motivated with a strong work ethic.

Pluses

• Experience with AAA Game Engines such as: Source, Unreal, Unity or CryEngine
• Familiarity with programming and scripting languages such as: C++, C#, Lua, or Javascript
• Knowledge of Maya, 3DS Max, Photoshop, Zbrush, and Substance.
• Passion for action games on console or PC.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

ART DIRECTOR - UNANNOUNCED PROJECT
Unannounced Project•Irvine

Blizzard Entertainment is looking for an exceptional Art Director to help us push the artistic vision and development of an exciting unannounced game.

As a director, you will be a motivational catalyst for the art team. As an artist, you will help define the look of new characters, environments, and architecture for this ambitious unannounced project.

Are you the type to ignite others in both as a leader and as an artist? Do you have experience driving and communicating a clear vision in a highly-collaborative environment to a large art staff to build amazing worlds? Do you thrive when managing and mentoring creatives and being a true partner to the engineering, production, design and audio teams? If you're ready to add your passion to a close-knit, collaborative community of artists, engineers, and designers whose sole goal is to make a truly immersive game experience, please read on.

Blizzard offers a fun, creative, and technically challenging environment with excellent compensation and a full range of benefits.

Responsibilities

• Create concept paintings and other benchmark assets that establish quality expectations and inspire others.
• Provide day-to-day coaching and leadership for a team of artists, including career guidance, mentorship and overall culture development.
• A proven ability to visually tackle problems in collaboration with the broader game team, including other artists, art leads, and design leads.
• Collaborate with other art directors across the company in defining and continuing to develop Blizzard's unique visual style.
• Proven experience directing and supporting artists across multiple art disciplines.
• Partner with production to ensure schedules and plans meet business and project needs.
• Partner with other disciplines to ensure the team is healthy and strong.

Requirements

• A minimum of 10 years' experience crafting video game art.
• At least five years' experience working in AAA games.
• You shine in a collaborative work culture, and truly enjoy working with others.
• You take initiative to solve problems and you have excellent follow-through.
• Extensive experience developing a unique and cohesive visual style in a team environment.
• Proven track record of delivering clear and consistent visual feedback that elevates the art team's work.
• A desire to work closely with game design to make sure the game's art improves the player experience.
• An ability and desire to explore a wide variety of ideas to push Blizzard's art style.

Pluses

• Real passion for action games.
• Extensive experience playing Blizzard games.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Heckler456 said:

Yeah so, this is definitely their take on Battle Royale, right? Or is there anything else they're working on that fits that bill? I feel like they've jumped on every craze for the past decade and a half, and refined it into something amazing, so a battle royale game's gotta be coming at some point.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

touchmykatamari said:

Lost Vikings gacha confirmed

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

BDS said:

Whatever happened to that game a year ago or so where they were specifically hiring people familiar with Overwatch's characters and lore? That was why people thought they were doing either a mobile card game or a singleplayer expansion.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Kirblar said:

Monster Hunter World of Warcraft?

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Kirblar said:

Given the success of Diablo III on consoles doing more 1-4 player coop stuff in different genres seems like a no-brainer.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...