Production Department

The production team are the master planners, firefighters and studio glue. Producers don’t make the art, design the mechanics or write code - but without them, none of these things would come together in time, on budget or in harmony. They are the conductors of the game dev symphony.

Whether you’re working in AAA or five-person indie team, producers wear many hats. Organizing tasks, removing roadblocks, tracking progress and translating between creative vision and business needs.

🔍 What Does A Game Producer Do?

At it’s core, a Game Producer ensures a game gets made, properly. They don’t dictate the creative vision but they do protect that vision. Helping the team turn big ideas into shippable titles.

  • Break down goals into deliverable tasks.

  • Track project timelines using tools like JIRA, Trello or Notion.

  • Organize meetings; standups, retrospectives, sprint planning etc.

  • Spot risks and prevent delays.

  • Keep communication flowing between departments.

  • Support the team with resourcing, prioritization and morale.

  • Liaise with external stakeholders, publishers and licensors.

Think of them as the strategic spine of a team; they keep everything upright and moving forward, even when chaos threatens to burn it to a crisp.

🧠 What Skills Do You Need?

Hard Skills

  • Project management & Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban).

  • Planning tools - JIRA, Confluence, Notion, Teams.

  • Documentation and clarity in writing.

  • Risk management.

  • Budgeting and milestone tracking (specifically for senior/executive roles).

Soft Skills

  • Empathy - Protecting your team means understanding your team.

  • Communication - Know when to step in, and when to shut up and listen.

  • Conflict resolution - You will have to mediate tricky conversations.

  • Adaptability - Plans will change, your strength will show how you respond to it.

  • Initiative - You don’t wait to be told when something is on fire.

🧰 Tools Of The Trade

Tool

Purpose

JIRA

Tracking, sprint planning

Trello

Visual Kanban board, lightweight task tracking

Confluence/Notion/Obsidian

Project documentation, planning, wikis, databases

Miro/FigJam

Whiteboarding, timelines, feature roadmaps

Slack/Teams/Discord

Team communication

Excel/Google Sheets

Budgeting, capacity planning, burn charts

🧱 Producer Role Breakdown

Here is a typical ladder of roles, though titles and responsibilities can shift by studio size.

Associate Producer

  • Entry-level

  • Supports a senior producer or specific team (like art or QA)

  • Tracks minor tasks, runs meetings, takes notes

  • Learning the ropes while assisting with team coordination

Assistant Producer

  • Mid-level

  • Starts owning more responsibilities; managing a feature, timeline or specific deliverable

  • Strong organizational and communication skills are a must

  • Often the primary contact for smaller team clusters

Senior Producer

  • Oversees multiple teams, systems or major vertical slices of the game

  • Owns planning and deliver for key milestones

  • Coaches junior producers, steps in during moments of crisis

  • Expected to hold deep production expertise and studio knowledge

Executive Producer

  • Sets high-level vision for production pipeline

  • Bridges communication between devs and business/publishing partners

  • Manages large-scale budgets and cross-project planning

  • Often responsible for staffing, deliver strategy and shipping

Head of Production

  • Leads the entire production department

  • Sets the tone for the team workflow, culture and processes

  • Works closely with the Creative Director, Studio Head or CEO

  • Owns risk, resources and roadmap across multiple games or departments

💬 Tips From The Trenches

  • Be calm in the chaos. If you panic, your team will too. Your vibe becomes the project’s vibe.

  • Never let a Gantt chart replace people skills. You’re managing humans, not spreadsheets.

  • Stand-ups aren’t for status, they’re for alignment. Get clear why you meet.

  • Be the buffer. Shield your team from unnecessary pressure so they can focus on what matters.

  • Trust is your currency. You don’t earn it by barking orders, you earn it by showing up consistently.

  • Know the product. You don’t need to be a designer, but you must understand the gameplay to anticipate issues.

👤 Want To Become A Producer?

Here’s how to start building your path:

  • Try managing a small project - a game jam or student project.

  • Learn Agile basics and Scrum ceremonies.

  • Explore JIRA, Confluence, Trello and Notion.

  • Read blogs from studios like Naughty Dog or CD Projekt Red.

📚 Further Learning & Resources

📖 Books

  • “The Game Production Handbook” by Heather Chandler

    • Covers team dynamics, scheduling, budgeting and process for AAA and indie devs. Great for understanding the producer role across all phases.

  • “Agile Game Development with Scrum” by Clinton Keith

    • If you’re serious about managing springs and roadmaps in games specifically, this book helps you apply Agile methodologies without becoming a robot.

  • “Team Leadership in the Games Industry” by Seth Spaulding

    • You’ll learn how to solve problems, meeting deadlines and handling underperformers.

 

💻 Articles & Blogs

 

📺 Videos & Talks

 

🌐 Communities
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