--- title: "Who to hire first in a games startup: build for the core loop" description: "Who to hire first in a games startup: gameplay engineer, producer and technical artist, an early community manager, then live ops and data at soft launch." image: https://funded.club/hubfs/og_image_funded.png --- [![Primary\_logo](https://funded.club/hubfs/Primary_logo.svg)](https://funded.club/) [Book a call](https://funded.club/contact-us) - [Hire](https://funded.club) - [Pricing](https://funded.club/pricing) - [Find a job](https://funded.club/startupjobs) - [Case Studies](https://funded.club/case-studies) - [Locally](https://funded.club/case-studies/locally) - [Supernova](https://funded.club/case-studies/supernova) - [Isolocity](https://funded.club/case-studies/isolocity) - [WeTravel](https://funded.club/case-studies/wetravel) - [Digital Science](https://funded.club/case-studies/digital-science) - [Blog](https://funded.club/blog-results) - [Resources](https://funded.club/resources) - [Predict success](https://signup.predict.ventures/) - [Growth Planner](https://funded.club/growth-planner) - [Glossary](https://funded.club/glossary) - [FAQ](https://funded.club/faq) - [Contact us](https://funded.club/contact-us) [Book a call](https://funded.club/contact-us) - Engagement options: - [Hiring solutions](https://funded.club) - [Pay-as-you-go](https://funded.club/pricing) - Membership plan # Who to hire first in a games startup: build for the core loop [Ray Gibson](https://funded.club/blog/author/ray-gibson) Nov 4, 2026, 2:34:31 PM *Updated November 2026* A games startup should hire first around its core loop: a gameplay engineer to iterate on how the game feels, a producer to keep builds and milestones moving, and a technical artist to get art into the engine at the right performance. A community manager belongs earlier than most founders expect, and live ops and data hires follow once the game reaches soft launch and players produce data worth acting on. Founders from big studios often rebuild the org chart they left, with a creative director, a lead designer and an art director. A team of eight cannot carry those titles. Hire for the work your core loop needs this quarter, and for the live game you will run after launch. ## Borrowed titles versus the work in front of you At a large studio each title sits on top of a department. In a small studio there is nobody underneath, so a role that only directs others pays a senior salary for review meetings. BIG-STUDIO TITLE WHAT A SMALL TEAM HIRES INSTEAD Lead game designer **Gameplay engineer who designs,** tuning the loop in code every day. Art director **Technical artist,** building the pipeline so a small art team ships at quality. QA department **Producer plus community playtests,** with a test plan and a player cohort. Head of marketing **Community manager,** running Discord and playtest groups from the prototype. Analytics team **One data analyst,** with live ops instinct, at soft launch. Suggested swaps for a studio under about fifteen people. ## The early roles, and what good looks like in each ### Gameplay engineer Your first engineering hire should care about game feel as much as clean code. Look for fluency in your engine and evidence they have owned a mechanic from prototype to polish, even in a jam entry. For mobile, add profiling on mid-range phones; our guide to [hiring a mobile engineer](https://funded.club/blog/hire-mobile-engineer-startup) covers that side. ### Producer A small-studio producer protects the milestone without burning out the team. Ask about a feature they cut and how they told the person who built it, because a producer who has never cut scope protects dates with overtime. ### Technical artist A technical artist bridges art and engine, owning shaders, import tools and performance budgets, so a small art team ships work that runs on your players' devices. ### Community manager Free-to-play games live on player feedback from the first closed playtest. A community manager who builds the Discord early turns feedback into design tickets and reaches soft launch with players already invested. ### Live ops and data At soft launch the work shifts from features to tuning retention and the economy. A data analyst builds funnels and cohorts, and a live ops designer runs events and offers. Someone, often the producer, also owns store policies, age ratings and children's privacy rules such as COPPA and GDPR, with your lawyer on the detail. ## Crunch is a hiring question, so answer it before you are asked Experienced game developers often ask about crunch in the first call, and many have left studios over it. Prepare specific answers. Have answers ready before the role goes live Suggested checklist - What the hours looked like in the fortnight before your last milestone. - How you cut scope when a date slips, with a real example. - Who can say no to a new feature late in a cycle. - Your overtime policy in writing, and whether extra hours are paid or given back as time off. - How on-call for live events will rotate after launch. ## Assess the work, starting with the portfolio Games hiring is portfolio-led. For artists the portfolio is the first filter, ideally in a style close to yours. For engineers and designers, ask for playable builds, jam games, mods or a shipped title they can walk through, including what they would change now. Keep any trial task short and paid, never unpaid production work. Write a [scorecard](https://funded.club/blog/job-scorecard-startup-role) first so everyone judges the same things. ## Worked example: a small studio taking a free-to-play mobile game to soft launch Illustrative, swap in your own timings. A designer CEO, an engineer CTO and a contract artist, with a playable prototype and a Seed round to reach soft launch. | Stage and timing | Hire | Why at this point | | --- | --- | --- | | PROTOTYPE Months 0 to 2 | **Gameplay engineer** | The CTO is also building backend, so loop iteration is slow. | | PROTOTYPE Months 1 to 3 | **Technical artist** | The contract artist's work needs a pipeline and a performance budget. | | VERTICAL SLICE Months 3 to 5 | **Producer** | A milestone plan to soft launch, and someone to run outside contractors. | | VERTICAL SLICE Months 4 to 6 | **Community manager** | Closed playtests start before the slice is done. | | PRE-LAUNCH Months 6 to 8 | **Backend engineer** | Server-side config so the economy can change without an app update. | | SOFT LAUNCH Months 9 to 11 | **Data analyst** | Retention cohorts, funnels and economy health in the test markets. | | SOFT LAUNCH Months 11 to 14 | **Live ops designer** | Events and offers, tuned against what the analyst finds. | | GLOBAL PREP Months 14 to 18 | **Growth marketer** | Paid acquisition once soft launch retention justifies it. | The producer arrives before a second artist, and there is no growth marketer until soft launch shows whether players stay. ## Where Funded.club fits We recruit engineering, product, marketing, operations and leadership roles, which in a studio means engineers, producers, community and growth marketers, data and live ops, and studio leadership. Art and creative roles usually run through portfolios and studio networks. As a fixed-fee recruiting partner, since 2019 we've helped 500+ startups from Seed to Series D across North America, Europe and APAC, with one dedicated recruiter running each search and 33 days on average from kick-off to hire. Our fixed fee is agreed upfront, averaging 6 to 9% of salary against the 20 to 25% typical of contingency recruiters. For an illustrative gameplay engineer on $105,000, the fee is $7,500. If we don't deliver a shortlist of at least 3 qualified candidates within 30 days, you can claim back in full the advance paid at the start of the search. See our [pricing page](https://funded.club/pricing), or [see all our sector hiring playbooks](https://funded.club/blog/startup-hiring-by-industry). ## Frequently asked questions ### Who should a games startup hire first? A gameplay engineer, a producer and a technical artist, with a community manager soon after. Live ops and data hires come at soft launch. ### When should an indie studio hire a community manager? Before the first closed playtest, which for a free-to-play game is often well before launch, so there is a player base ready for soft launch. ### How do you assess game developers in interviews? Start with the portfolio or playable work, ask the candidate to walk through their decisions, and use a short, paid trial task if needed. ### How should a small studio talk about crunch with candidates? Give specific answers about hours before your last milestone, how you cut scope and your overtime policy. Candidates often check with former staff. Worth a brief chat about your next hire? [Book a free call](https://funded.club/contact-us). ## Hiring after a funding round? First candidates in 7 days. Fixed-fee, no commission. [See pricing](https://funded.club/pricing) [Book a free call](https://funded.club/contact-us) [Try the Growth Planner](https://funded.club/growth-planner) [![Primary\_logo](https://funded.club/hubfs/funded-images2022/Primary_logo.svg)](https://funded.club) © 2019-2026 Funded.club B.V. All Rights Reserved. Chamber of Commerce: 63083809    VAT (BTW): NL855084844B01 ## Contact Us - [Hiring service](https://funded.club) - [Pricing - Recruiting projects](https://funded.club/pricing) - [Find a job](https://funded.club/startupjobs) - [Our team](https://funded.club/fundedteam) - [Blog](https://funded.club/blog) - [Case studies](https://funded.club/case-studies) - [Startup resources](https://funded.club/resources) - [FAQ](https://funded.club/faq) - [Contact Us](https://funded.club/contact-us) ## Follow Us © 2019-2026 All rights reserved. - [Privacy Policy](https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/56133290) - [Cookie policies](https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/56133290/cookie-policy) - [Terms of Use](https://funded.club/terms) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@id" : "https://funded.club/#ray-gibson" }, "dateModified" : "2026-11-04", "datePublished" : "2026-11-04", "headline" : "Who to hire first in a games startup: build for the core loop", "image" : [ "" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://funded.club/blog/hiring-in-gaming-startups", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@id" : "https://funded.club/#organization" } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://funded.club/#organization", "@type" : "Organization", "areaServed" : [ "North America", "Europe", "Asia-Pacific" ], "description" : "Fixed-fee recruiting partner for funded startups and fast-growing teams across North America, Europe and APAC. 500+ startups helped since 2019. 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