Narrative News February: Jobs, Resources, and Industry Updates

And a word on building community!

Feb 04, 2025

Hi fellow narrative designers,

Just as I thought we were beginning to see some stabilization in the game industry jobs market, we were hit again with layoffs from some big names: Ubisoft, Bioware, Jam City, and Netflix, to name the ones I’ve seen. It’s rough out there, and the truth is that no is immune, no one is entirely secure. Especially not in the narrative department — the 2025 State of the Game Industry report revealed that one in ten respondents were laid off last year, with roles in narrative the most highly affected at 19 percent. To which I say: great idea, lay off all your writers. That’ll make for some really fun games in the future I bet.

But, more importantly, if you’ve been laid off and you are in any way taking personal responsibility: do not. This is about poor executive decision making — not you.

If you’re in need of support and community, reach out to your local indie communities, get involved in game discords, find jams and friends on itch.io, do anything you can to make human connections among all these inhumane cuts. I’ve been there once or twice (okay three or four) times, and it’s the only thing that’s kept me afloat. If you’re not sure where to start, I jotted down some quick ideas below.

In-person Indie Communities

Most cities around the world have some form of in-person indie game community. In New York there’s more than one, but I have to admit I’m biased toward GUMBO, a non-profit indie games co-working space that holds numerous events every month (I’m a drop-in member). In LA, there’s Glitch City, a similar organization. In Toronto, Dames Making Games is a wonderful community resource. There are many more in the States and across the world and I don’t have a comprehensive list, but I’d recommend searching “indie game dev collective [insert city here]” and seeing what pops up!

Conferences

Of course, games conferences are also a valid way to network but don’t feel you need to shell out $$$ to attend one if you don’t have the funds. If you’re in San Francisco around GDC, there are plenty of free events to attend without purchasing a ticket to the conference itself. There are also less expensive conferences, like NarraScope, which not only offers the opportunity for in-person networking, but also a lively Discord.

Online Communities

If you’re not in or near a city, do not despair! Game devs are some of the most online folks around. There’s the online Games Industry Gathering that happens each month for 24 hours straight; the IGDA-F, which offers programs for people trying to get into game dev that are all remote-friendly; and there are game jams — tons of ‘em — hosted on itch.io, all of which host Discord servers where you can meet and work with tons of indie devs from around the world.

The DIY Approach

If all else fails, there’s always the DIY approach — perhaps an indie game dev meetup in your town could produce opportunities for collaboration. I know, I know, it sounds a little cringe, but all good things start out cringe, and even if the event is a failure you’ll get something out of it. Trust the girl who started a Nancy Drew Book Club at the library in her village at age 12. The important thing is, I made some cool puzzles that afternoon.

Thanks for reading Narrative News! This post is public so feel free to share it.

On to regularly schedule programming…

Jams & Competitions

Emotional Game Jam 2025 runs from February 4th to February 6th and is about creating “a unique experience around emotions.” It is hybrid (online and in Laval, France) and offers some small prizes.
Mini Jame Gam #39 is a “beginner friendly game jam for people who want to have fun, meet new people and learn game development.” It runs from February 7th to February 9th.
Smoochie Jam, a Valentine’s interactive fiction jam, runs from February 1st to March 1st.
SeedComp! is a yearly interactive fiction game jam that takes place in two rounds: planting and sprouting. The sprouts are due by March 1st.
The deadline for intents to enter the annual Spring Thing Interactive Fiction Festival is March 1st.

Resources

Sasha Kudryavstev reposted their amazing list of free narrative design and game writing resources. Highly recommend perusing!

Opportunities

NarraScope is looking for pitches for talks, due February 7th, for the upcoming conference to be held June 20-22 in Philadelphia. The conference is also hosting a showcase of narrative games for the first time, and offering a small honorarium. The submission deadline for the games showcase is May 1.

Jobs

Not specifically narrative design, but Valnet is hiring gaming writers and I happen to know many of the folks over at these media properties are quite cool!
Editor at Sudden Snail Remote, +/- 3 hours from CET timezone. “Contract position at a small indie studio working on their first game. This is a narrative focused game with heavy inspiration from TTRPG’s such as Dungeons and Dragons and contemporary CRPG’s such as Disco Elysium and classics like Planetscape: Torment.”
Junior Script Writer at Highdive Montreal or Toronto-based. Part of the NetEase Games portfolio. “To continue to scale our growth in Canada, we're currently seeking a Junior Script Writer for our next AAA project to assist the Narrative Director.”
Writer at Naughty Dog US-only remote. Would work through a contract staffing company. “Naughty Dog is offering a rare opportunity to join our writing team working on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet!”
Narrative Designer at Unknown Worlds Remote. “Unknown Worlds is seeking a talented Narrative Content Designer to work on Subnautica 2.”
Narrative Designer - FC Southam, England. “We are looking for someone who understands football and our game to work in our growing design team with the Design Director and Senior Game Designer to develop narrative systems and to create something new and something exciting for our players.”
Game Narrative Designer wanted via a recruitment post by Australian recruiter Bronwynn Lusted. She writes: “remote Australia or USA/Canada time zones
Must have 2 years experience as a Games Narrative Designer & at least one published title (MMO open world game genre)”.
Senior Game Writer at EA Studios - Cliffhanger Games Kirkland, Washington-based. “Cliffhanger Games is a newly formed Seattle Studio focusing on blockbuster action-adventure games and pioneering next-generation emergent storytelling beginning with Marvel’s Black Panther.”

Senior Writer at CD PROJEKT RED Boston-based. “In this role, you will be responsible for crafting captivating narratives, compelling dialogues and innovative quests in Project Orion - the follow-up to Cyberpunk 2077 and the next major video game in the Cyberpunk franchise.”
Lead Narrative Designer at Jam City SF-based. “We are looking for an experienced Lead Narrative Designer to bring their expert writing and game design skills to our hit mobile game Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery.”
Principal Narrative Designer at Elsewhere Entertainment (Activision) Santa Monica-based. “Elsewhere Entertainment is looking for a Principal Narrative Designer to join the development of a new IP.”
Narrative Manager at Wizards of the Coast Renton, Washington-based. “Magic: The Gathering is seeking a Narrative Team Manager to define and grow our Universes Beyond team!”
Narrative Director at Ubisoft Bordeaux Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France-based. “As Narrative Director on a project not announced yet, you will be responsible for establishing and driving the development of the overall story, characters and settings together with other colleagues.”

Thanks for reading! Pass on the good vibes and share this newsletter with other narrative designers.

About the Writer:

Rose Behar is a narrative designer at Scopely working on a new IP. Her previous work is featured in Longleaf Valley and Cell to Singularity, among other projects. She puts out the free Narrative News roundup every month.