Principal Game Designer in Horsham

Join Creative Assembly and craft deep and detailed games that last, entertaining millions of players across the globe for decades.

The Role

Creative Assembly is looking for a Principal Game Designer to join the talented Total War team working on exciting projects in the Total War franchise at our headquarters studio in Horsham, UK. You’ll become part of a world‑class development team working on a title in the award‑winning Total War series. You will be able to offer insights that drive the way our projects are shaped and directly influence our players’ gaming experience. You will develop and champion game features that provide immersive and engaging gameplay experiences, applying your expertise to designing both game systems and the content that leverages these systems to the greatest effect. Beyond conceptual and technical skills, you must have a strong game design intuition, the capacity to understand and iterate upon gameplay aesthetics and “feel”. Flexible working at Creative Assembly includes hybrid, fully remote within country of employment for eligible roles, and in‑studio. We recognise that there is no one‑size‑fits‑all approach and empower our teams to define the working patterns which work best for them, which may mean different things for different teams and roles and at different times. This role is hybrid; it cannot offer fully remote working. Further details can be discussed during the recruitment process.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Take full ownership and responsibility for multiple features and ensure they are delivered to the highest quality; this includes researching, documenting, creating, implementing, balancing and more.
• Create systems and content that provide immersive, engaging and valuable experiences that uphold the game's pillars, themes and vision.
• Collaborate with the design team to create detailed feature designs and work closely with developers from other disciplines to ensure that the features you are responsible for are developed to the highest standard, from initial concept to final release.
• Deliver an exceptional player experience through your work; inspire and bond the development team.
• Develop standards and best practices, set the bar for quality and seek continuous improvement across the whole design pipeline.
• Spot problems and potential hurdles in advance, provide support to teammates and uphold the direction of leads and directors; maintain awareness of the development status of the project in your area, adjacent areas and as a whole.
• Work independently and deliver on tasks expertly and reliably; understand your area’s pipelines and routines and drive new experimental initiatives that break new ground.
• Be responsible for creating and maintaining fun and balanced features; clearly communicate regular updates to relevant discipline teams, proactively solve problems.

Essential Knowledge, Skill and Experience

• Significant games industry knowledge and experience – understanding the process of developing and delivering a game; having shipped games and seen development from start to finish; continuous improvement mindset.
• Demonstrable ability to analyse gameplay features, identify strengths and weaknesses, and recommend improvements.
• Champion of player value.
• Experience using Excel and ability to balance large sets of numbers for unit balance, progression systems etc.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written; can communicate clearly and concisely in English.
• Wide‑range experience playing a variety of video games, interested in why things work.
• Ability to listen and be open to feedback and integrate that into your work.
• Ability to coach and mentor less experienced members of your discipline.

Desirable

• Shipped at least one title in a Senior or Principal Designer position.
• Any shipped titles or personal projects, board game designs, etc.
• Deep understanding of Total War games.
• Deep understanding of games in the strategy genres (grand, RTS, 4X etc.).
• Modding experience.
• Experience in gameplay scripting in LUA, C# or other language.
• Knowledge of and interest in history.
• Experience in using metrics to improve design.
• Great attention to detail and strong visual sense.
• Experience in other game design areas, such as AI or narrative design.

About Creative Assembly

We care deeply about the experiences we create and put our players at the heart of our decisions. We are all game makers; no matter our role we are empowered to make significant contributions to our games, supported by skills development and growth opportunities. Most roles at Creative Assembly are hybrid; what this looks like will be discussed during the interview process. For many teams, this is 3 days a week in the studio. CA has the right to change requirements based on the needs of the business.

Benefits

• Work from Anywhere for a temporary period each year (restrictions apply such as VISAs).
• Enhanced holiday allowance, maternity and paternity breaks, flexibility with our core hours and no‑notice holidays.
• Bespoke relocation package for you and your dependents.
• Private medical and dental insurance, life insurance, permanent health insurance, critical illness cover and free health‑care screening.
• Additional benefits ranging from free games and work parties to discounts on technology.
• Wellbeing support and virtual confidential counselling.

We are an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief. Our studio sites have disabled access.