There has been a ton of recent job offerings from Games Workshop lately, but just how cool would it be to work there? Maybe more importantly could you even afford to?
Everyone wants to work in a “Game Store”:
There has been a HUGE buzz going for all recent job postings for Specialist Games and Games Workshop vacancies. Some Examples:
Citadel Technical Editor (Book and Box Games): Nottingham, UK
Do you want to increase the quality of Games Workshop’s books and boxed games by editing the written content to ensure the best possible results? Are you excited by the thought of editing our books and boxed games to ensure they always meet their objectives and accord with our IP and style whilst always maintaining the highest standards of spelling and grammar?
Citadel Rules Writer (Book & Box Games): Nottingham, UK
Do you want to write exciting rules that bring the fantastic range of Citadel Miniatures to life? Do you want to develop the game systems of Warhammer Age of Sigmar and Warhammer 40,000 to make them the best they can possibly be? Are you excited about working with a team of professional rules writers to produce new rules for our books and boxed games?
The Devile however may be in the details. Checkout the general GW Job Posting FAQs for some context:
Q: Why are all your job vacancies in English?
A: Games Workshop is based in England and our global business language is English. To be successful in management and professional roles, the ability to speak English is essential.
Q: Why are there no salaries on your job vacancies?
A: First and foremost we are looking for someone who is a good fit for both the job and our business. We pay salaries that reflect the value that the individual brings to Games Workshop and we resize and reshape roles for candidates that we think bring even more to a given job.
Q: Will you sponsor my Green Card/Visa/Work Permit?
A: Probably not, no. We generally expect anyone applying for a role to already have the legal permission to work in the country concerned. Only in exceptional circumstances will we sponsor a candidiate and even then it is usually reserved for existing members of staff moving to a different part of the business.
Q: Will you sponsor my professional qualifications/exams?
A: Quite possibly, yes. We recognise and support our staff through a range of professional development and qualification courses that are important to the long-term success of Games Workshop.
The Reality:
Here’s what some gamers with with first hand experience gaming job front say about GW salaries:
via Dakka’s Ian Sturrock
“Average pay in 2008 was about £26K. There’s been no significant rise since then (recession innit)…”
via Dakka’s torgoch
“GW salaries are in general very low and the company has a major imbalance in internal pay due to the legacy of its transition from a private company to PLC.
My understanding is that:
Painters get it worst, I think they are on 15k (whatever the UK minimum wage is)
Design Studio types get around £18k to start with I understand, be they involved in the physical product or IP product. Their is progression, but not a lot.
For roles in which there is a job market, salaries tend to be a bit more market proximate, so publishing is poor (As a Black Library editor I was offered 19.5k about 10 years ago, which was about the market rate really outside London), media is a bit better and the finance, legal and operational dept manager roles are the best paying jobs.
Long-term higher-ups are on wages that are linked to the fact that the company used to pay royalties on products to designers. Those who have joined since it became a PLC cannot expect to ever reach that level, so as a member of the design studio, you will simply cannot aspire to earn what Jervis earns while remaining with the company.”
Wow well everyone wants to work in a game store that I think we can all agree on, however this makes one really reconsider how realistic that “dream job” really is. Sure it’s “glamorous” but at the end of the day the cats have to eat – and so do you!
~Gaming, is it the Job you’re really looking for?
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at the Las Vegas Open, each of which attracts thousands of players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the 2011 Adepticon 40k Team Tournament. He was even featured for his painting in issue #304 of Games Workshop’s White Dwarf Magazine.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
