Level Up! (Mar'25) - The Games Industry Newsletter

We're finally heading into spring- the weather's warming up, the days are getting longer, and we're here for it!

There are plenty of exciting things happening at Games Jobs Direct! We've seen a continuous rise in the number of studios signing up to advertise vacancies and the overall number of open roles is steadily on the rise.

We've also got some new things in the pipeline like our GJD Talks which will be launching on Thursday 6th March with a live talk from Jamie McClenaghan. on the art and impact of localisation. Keep reading below to find out more about the talk and how to get involved.

As usual, we've also selected some of our hottest vacancies, helpful resources and a word from our friends over at Safe In Our World. Read on and let us know your thoughts in the comments ✌️

Check out our latest roundup of games industry opportunities from some of our partner studios!

Enginefall is Officially Announced! 🚂

Exciting news from our friends at Red Rover Interactive- the studio's very first title is officially in the works! It's been a long-anticipated announcement and we're so happy that all the team's hard work is finally coming to fruition.

The project is on track (pun very much intended) for release in early 2026 so keep your eyes peeled for more updates and check out the official trailer above!

CEO and Co-founder of BULKHEAD, Joe Brammer, recently announced that the studio would be directly including salary brackets into one of their open roles to test out what impact it would have. We asked him a few questions about this decision and his thoughts on salary transparency.

"By being transparent about what we’re willing to pay for a role at this moment, we provide candidates with the freedom to decide if our offer meets their expectations, rather than risking any unwelcome surprises later on."

Find out more and read the full article HERE.

As always, we've pulled together some resources that you might not have heard of. Here are our top three picks this month...

Getting Into Games 🎮

We've put together a handy article for those who may want to transition into the games industry. From identifying transferrable skills to the importance of networking.

Proko 🎨

Whether you're just starting in games art or you're a seasoned designer who wants to brush up on your character design. Proko has plenty of top quality tutorials.

Sonniss 🎧

Every year, Sonniss gives away thousands of dollars worth of sounds for free in celebration of the Games Developers Conference. This is that archive of sounds.

With so many opportunities from Keywords, and more to come throughout the year, we've etched out some space right here to share exclusive new updates and vacancies every month.

This month at Safe In Our World, we’ve been working on practicing patience, self-compassion, and showing up for yourself. We’d like to share a few resources to support with these themes:  

• A thoughtful piece on absence anxiety written by our own Communications & Events Manager, Em Aspinall.
• A training session on Journaling for Clear and Aligned Decisions, which you can catch on YouTube, hosted by Danni GT Coaching.
• Our free course on Self-Advocacy Speaking, which helps you to communicate with greater empathy and better identify your needs.

We also wanted to acknowledge that some of you might be feeling FOMO right now, with GDC25 on the horizon, and the beginning of a new year of industry events. FOMO, or the Fear Of Missing Out, can cause us to feel anxious, question our self-worth, and ultimately have quite a bit of an impact on our wellbeing. Here are a few tips if you’re experiencing FOMO:  

1. It’s okay to take a break from social media if you need to - a lot of these feelings can come from comparing yourself to others online. You could also mute terms like ‘GDC’ on certain platforms to limit the content you see around it.
2. Set realistic expectations for yourself and focus on things you can do during that time - celebrate your successes, wherever they come.
3. Remember you can still reach out and meet with people, even if it’s not in person! It’s a great time to ask to meet and pitch: have a call the week before or after the event. There are also lots of virtual events that encourage community building and networking, such as #NotGDC.
4. You can see some more tips on managing FOMO here. If you are going to an industry event, perhaps for the first time, check out The Thoughtful Gamer’s Survival Guide, or this Beginner’s Survival Kit by Avataryug on LinkedIn.

On that note, we have some of the team attending GDC and some of the team staying at home - if you’re going and want to meet up, contact Sky or Sarah! If you’re not going and want to reach out, you can book in a virtual coffee chat with Jess here.

To learn more about Safe In Our World, visit www.safeinourworld.org

It's a tough time at the minute for a lot of developers and candidates struggling to find new roles so we're making a point of highlighting a different studio each month that is actively recruiting to try and share as many opportunities as possible. This month it's Bohemia Interactive !

About the Studio...

"Our story began with our first game, Arma: Cold War Assault, released back in 2001. Developed by just a handful of people, this PC-exclusive title became a massive success. It sold well over a million copies, received numerous industry awards, and was praised by critics and players alike. Since then, we've grown from a ragtag bunch of garage devs to an international family of over 500 professionals."

Searching For...

"We're always looking for fun and creative people who are passionate about games to join our constantly growing teams as we work on big titles like Arma 4 and DayZ."

GJD Talks Are Here! 💬

We've been planning this for a while and we're excited to finally announce the launch of our new series of online webinars!

GJD Talks is a series of online events that will feature people from all corners of the industry sharing knowledge and expertise on a range of topics. The plan is to cover everything from QA and localisation to project management and studio leadership. Each talk will be streamed live and will include a Q&A section so you can get involved in the conversation!

We're kicking things off this month with founder of Classy Games Studios, Jamie McClenaghan. who will be sharing his expertise and passion for localisation. Whether you work specifically in localisation or not, the talk will offer great insight for devs at all levels and showcase its importance.

Get involved and join us on Thursday 6th for the first GJD Talk!

That's it for this month- keep your eyes peeled for more content and as always we love to hear from you so be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section. See you next month!

Team GJD ✌🏽