Meet Angela Browder, Studio Director at Bethesda Game Studios

This month we had the opportunity to chat with Angela Browder, Studio Director at Bethesda Game Studios.

She was happy to share insights into her responsibilities, her career journey, and experiences in the video games industry that have shaped her growth into a position of leadership.

What does your role as Studio Director at Bethesda Game Studios entail? What does your normal day-to-day look like?

I don’t think a normal day-to-day exists. My job has three general buckets, and I would say day-to-day, I live in one of those buckets and which one tends to be random based on the needs of the day.

In my eyes, I’ve got three major roles. Day-to-day operations like managing the building and getting people hardware, the “figuring out what we need to keep this train going” kind of items. Then there’s future planning. I spend a considerable amount of time thinking about the future. What do I want this studio to be? Whom do I want to be? What kind of work environment do I want to provide for the people who work here? I think a lot about what that means a year from now. Five years from now. What do I need to start putting into place now so I can achieve the goals and the vision that I have for the kind of place that I want to work.

Lastly, there’s the third role, acting as a sounding board for our leaders. Whether it’s leading the studio or the individual projects, a person in the leadership role has a lot placed on them. This is where my role comes in. I am someone anyone can come to if they need advice, help formulating plans, looking for constructive criticism, or when they need help navigating the responsibility that’s been placed on their shoulders. While I take this part of my job very seriously, it’s also one of my favorite aspects. This is how they become better leaders and how they will learn to set up the people underneath them for success.

What was your path into your current role?

I started out in QA which was really small back then. I was the lead for the night shift of PS3 version of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. I then had the opportunity to interview for a Producer position. They brought me on, and they put me into Art... and I knew nothing about art. I have a law degree. But it was a great opportunity for me to learn on my feet, so really, I got to figure out what an Art Producer is because none of us knew. We learned on the job, and over time I gained a lot of insight into what I needed to do to be successful. When you’re a producer, you have two main responsibilities. One is to the project, and one is to the people. And that remains true the higher up you go in leadership.

I was an Art Producer for 15 years. I started off in character art and animations and eventually moved on to be in charge of the entire Art department. I was managing 50-60 artists and not only was I trying to make sure they’re on track to produce the products, but they’re people, and I wanted to help them achieve their career goals. You want to make sure they’re happy, and so I spent a lot of time putting processes and procedures into place that didn’t exist because we used to be very, very small and as we grew, we needed those processes. And I think that kind of stuff really helped me in a lot of ways to prepare for my current role.

In 2020, I became Studio Director. I think that I was selected because of my experience managing the people side and the organization side of things in a positive way.

What made you go from getting a law degree to game development? Did you find that aspects of your degree were helpful in your current role?

Back in the day, I used to play this MUD called Modus Operandi. I played it for years and years, starting in high school, and I eventually became a Game Master. It was a creative endeavor for me. I had recently passed the bar, but was unemployed with a law degree and a lot of debt. I was trying to find a job, and I had a friend who worked at Bethesda, and she said, “Hey, we have an opening in the QA Department. Why don’t you just come work here until you find a job.”

Less than a year later I decided to take the Associate Producer role that was offered to me because I was at a crossroads in my life. I loved law school, loved learning, but being a lawyer was not that fulfilling. Back then, I didn’t know that you could have a career in games if I wasn’t an artist or a programmer.

Having a business and a law degree helped me be a successful Producer because through all of that upper-level education, I had to learn how to be organized and how to be able to communicate with other people. It gave me a lot of tools to be a good Product Manager and I was able to spend more time learning the aspects I didn’t know. I think part of the reason I ended up where I am now is because I had the opportunity to become very well-rounded.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? Your favorite moment in your career?

I think my favorite project I’ve worked on is Oblivion. I think for most people, your first real project in the industry holds a special place in your heart. It helps that it was an excellent game!

This is really cheesy, but becoming Studio Director was a huge, huge moment. Something like that is obviously a favorite moment of mine because when you work somewhere for a really long time, to have someone make a choice that shows trust in you, it really validates all the work you’ve done. There is trust that comes with saying, “Angela, we think you can do this. Here you go.” When Todd called, and said, “I’m making you Studio Director,” I made him repeat it twice - I was very confused. I got off the phone, and I was pretty emotional, it meant a lot to me and was a huge moment in my life and career.

Another huge moment for me was sitting in the Dolby Theater when we presented Fallout 4, and I was the producer for the video elements. Todd Howard goes up there to show the videos, and you’re surrounded by fans who have been waiting for Fallout. Just waiting for it- and to watch them be that joyful all because they love Fallout. There’s no other moment in my career that’s like it.

What do you love most about your job? What makes you happiest coming into work every day?

I’ve been blessed to work here for almost 18 years. There’s a reason I’ve stayed here for so long and that is because of people. These people are my friends. My wedding was like 85% Bethesda employees. It’s the people and the bonds you build by working in the trenches together, the relationships built over having spent so much time together here. I realize it is cheesy to say but when I started at Bethesda all those years ago, the people here became my family. Now that I’m Studio Director, I want to do right by everybody, and I want to make it awesome for them. They have given me a lot and I know that I have the capacity to make it better for all of them.

Do you have any advice for people who want to get into the game industry, especially for those who don’t have video game experience?

I encourage people to take the industry out of it. Just look at what the company is asking for in terms of skills. Everything is about framing, right? I can take my experience and frame it in such a way to show any hiring manager that, yes, I’ve never worked in this industry, but I have this skill set, and I have the desire to learn, and I’m a gamer.

Hiring managers love the opportunity to shape people and teach them. Most hiring managers long for that 50% diamond in the rough. I’m going to teach you everything you need to know, but I also get to help mold an employee who works the way that best fits our organization and who is the right cultural fit.

The other thing I would say is don’t stop applying. You may not be a fit for one particular place, or they’re at a point in the project where they cannot afford to invest in and teach you, but this studio over here may be at that point. Don’t let one rejection stop you. I would encourage people to continue to try. Don’t take that one rejection as a thing about yourself. Keep applying. Keep going.

What are you most looking forward to in the coming year? What does the future of Bethesda Game Studios look like?

As a studio we’ve grown exponentially, and we have this opportunity to decide who we want to be. I’m so proud of where we are, but we still have room to keep growing. I’m so excited to be a part of that and I’m proud to have spent my whole career here. I plan to do this until I retire.

I want to build a place my daughter’s daughter can someday work and be happy and content, find challenges, find fulfillment, and find a career. I want to be able to say both that we make the best video games in the world and that we are the best employer, I want us to be the whole package.

Thank you so much Angela for taking the time to answer our questions. Check out more from our team here at Bethesda Game Studios. If you want to work alongside Angela or anyone else at Bethesda Game Studios, visit our careers page and apply today!