At Hinterland, our player community is critical to what we do. Having built a game and company around the success of THE LONG DARK -- a Kickstarter and Early Access title that depended on community engagement to find success -- our focus on community is part of our DNA as a development studio. As we continue to develop THE LONG DARK through our current paid expansion pass, TALES FROM THE FAR TERRITORY, and bring our story mode WINTERMUTE to its conclusion in Episode Five, we’re looking for an experienced Community Manager to take the reins on nurturing and growing our 10-million member player community. We want someone who brings some hard-won experience to this role, but is also looking to the future of game communities. Not only what they are today, but what they will become tomorrow.

In this role, you will develop strategy, and drive the execution, around which platforms to prioritize and how best to engage with the community in a way that’s aligned with the Hinterland brand and our values. This isn’t a role for passive observers. We want someone who is ready to jump in and participate, animate, guide, and in some cases, correct, the direction of the player community. You’re there to help create meaningful discussion, engage with players, point them in the right direction when they need help, and to be a valued and trusted interface between our fans and Hinterland.

We’d rather have a smaller community of thoughtful, friendly people than a large group of noisy, abrasive troublemakers. Our philosophy around community is to create thoughtful social environments that embrace a “quietest person in the room” approach. Specifically, that means we are thinking about the quiet people sitting at the edge of the group, looking in and wondering if it’s safe to jump into a discussion, wondering if this is the kind of place they will find fellow fans and a welcoming haven from the noise and toxicity that often characterizes game communities. These people often watch and wait to see what the community says and does, and how the developers handle moderation, to know if it will be a safe and enjoyable space for them. This is the (mostly) silent majority.

To be a successful Community Manager at Hinterland, you need to have the skill and deftness to navigate often complex, deeply passionate discussions about the game, to be able to get people on track when they have strayed, and also to have the confidence and skill to expertly handle troublemakers when needed. We have spent years and invested significant resources in building a pensive, thoughtful, friendly community, and we see our primary goal being to perpetuate the safety and thoughtfulness of this space. This means we have zero tolerance for abuse and toxicity, and we are very quick to show the door to folks who thrive around creating drama and discomfort for other people. 

In this new “post-Twitter” world of social media we live in, we’re also looking for a strategic thinker who understands online communities writ large: where they congregate, how they communicate, what makes them thrive. Our primary community presence is in our own official Hinterland community, although we also have significant community presence on other platforms like Steam, Reddit, Discord, and elsewhere. We have strong social media followings on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. We haven’t much explored some of the other popular platforms, like TikTok. We’re open to evolving our approach, and want to bring someone in who has broad knowledge about community engagement and best practices, but also the ability to be open-minded to approach, and to ensure the current and future communities at Hinterland are designed around core Hinterland values. We do not chase trends, and only want to use tools and build a presence on platforms that align with what we believe. That is more important to us than being visible on the hottest new social media app.

Your Impact

In this role, you will engage directly with Hinterland fans, and be their primary interface with THE LONG DARK. You’ll take a supportive, “concierge” type role in community discussions, post thoughtful responses and ask intriguing questions that drive community activity, gently enforce the community guidelines, flag major bugs or issues with the Test and Support teams, and do your best to create a safe and inclusive space for people to share their love of THE LONG DARK. Your efforts will lead to lasting long-term relationships between community members, and long-term loyalty to Hinterland and its games.

Your Responsibilities

• Spend time with the Hinterland player community, every day.
• Be a nurturing voice of reason, and a welcoming presence in our forums, and on any other community-facing platforms we may choose to operate in the future.
• Moderate using community guidelines, in a calm and professional manner.
• Create a positive, safe environment for all the “quiet people” to feel at home, not just the confident noisy types. Having an inclusive community is a key Hinterland value, and our success with this often comes down to how we handle moderation.
• Scan the community discussion regularly and raise any red flags as needed. Bring major community issues with the game to the Test and Support teams so that they can be tracked and addressed.
• Coordinate with the Hinterland Communications team and studio Leadership to ensure you are putting forward a presence that is aligned with Hinterland values and brand.
• Put the needs of the community, the team, and the game ahead of your goals for personal branding. Note: You may primarily work through anonymous studio accounts.
• Be sensitive to the international nature of our player community, and ensure players from around the world feel welcome and recognized for their contributions.
• Gather and study platform analytics with an eye to maximizing player engagement and community growth.
• In collaboration with an in-house Brand team, create and share visual content for community and social media platforms that promotes THE LONG DARK, and Hinterland, while strengthening player engagement.
• Build out an annual content calendar with key beats around product releases, Hinterland announcements, and cultural observances that are relevant to Hinterland and THE LONG DARK community.
• Build out a monthly content calendar for our social platforms, and prepare posts ahead of time to ensure a steady, but always thoughtful, flow of engaging content for our players.
• Conceive of and run compelling community events, including contests, fan-fiction, cosplay, community in-game challenges, etc.
• Engage proactively with key streamers and influencers who enjoy THE LONG DARK, and share content that promotes Hinterland values around the game and the community.
• Build a strategy for increasing streamer engagement, and utilize third-party tools like Keymailer to sustain a steady flow of new streamer content.
• Where applicable and when asked, participate in industry events, including conferences like GDC or player-facing events like PAX, representing Hinterland and THE LONG DARK with the utmost professionalism.

Your Skills & Qualifications

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Extensive experience with running online communities, particularly those built up around highly engaged players.
• Strong affinity for players and “game culture”, and the ability to relate to other players around THE LONG DARK, games, and pop culture in general.
• Expert familiarity with one or more major social media platforms. Comfort and experience with the majority of the primary social media platforms.
• Strong critical thinking, and ability to use analytics to inform strategies around content and engagement.
• Experience creating and maintaining content calendars.
• Experience crafting compelling content that adheres to specific brand Tone of Voice and company values.
• Intermediate skills with Photoshop or other image editing programs.
• Passion for video games, and pop culture in general.

Extra Consideration

• Deep familiarity with THE LONG DARK, and a love for the game.
• Located within 3 hours of the Pacific Time Zone.
• Ability to create short videos and gifs around game and community content.
• Applicants from diverse backgrounds strongly encouraged to apply.