Royalties Manager
Atari · Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom ·
- Employment
- Contract
- Category
- Management
About Atari
Atari is an interactive entertainment company and an iconic gaming industry brand recognized worldwide for its multi-platform games and licensed products. Atari owns and/or manages a portfolio of more than 400 games and franchises, including globally recognized brands such as Asteroids®, Centipede®, Missile Command®, Pong®, and RollerCoaster Tycoon®.
The Atari family of brands includes Digital Eclipse, Nightdive Studios, Infogrames, AtariAge, MobyGames, as well as Coatsink, Early Morning Studios, Stormteller Games and Implicit Conversions—spanning game development, publishing, and community experiences worldwide.
Atari operates internationally with offices in the US, UK, in France, Germany, Sweden, and India.
Overview
The Royalties Manager will own the timely and accurate preparation, review, and submission of royalty statements to Licensors as well as the receipt, validation, and invoicing for royalty statements received from Licensees, overseeing all royalty-related components of the the Atari organization. This is a hands-on IC-role for someone who is comfortable working through contract terms, sales data, revenue shares, deductions, recoupment positions and payment calculations in detail.
Sitting within the accounting function, you will help bring royalty management into a consistent, well-controlled operating model across entities and systems. You will draw on data and agreements held across accounting, legal, and business development to make sure the underlying data is complete, the calculations are right, deductions have been appropriately applied, and every submission is made on time.
This is not a detached reporting role. You will become the person who knows what the contracts require, spots when the numbers do not make sense, and follows issues through to resolution. You will also help the wider business understand and use a consistent approach to royalty management. This role is for someone who enjoys the detail and takes ownership of the result. A typical day may involve reviewing contract numbers, checking sales data, reconciling a royalty statement, resolving an issue with a partner or business team, and making sure the next submission is ready on time.
You will need to integrate closely with the wider company rather than operate as a standalone specialist. The role has a clear operational focus: making royalty reporting accurate, controlled, consistent and dependable across the Atari organization.
While the role is based in Newcastle, we are open to remote working arrangements for the right candidate, depending on experience and fit.
What you’ll do
- Own the end-to-end preparation, review and timely submission of royalty statements to licensors, developers, publishers and other third-party partners.
- Receive and review royalty statements and payments from our licensees to ensure they are complete, accurate, and reasonable.
- Act as the primary point of contact for royalty-related queries from internal stakeholders and external partners as required.
- Validate game sales, revenue share amounts, contractual deductions, recoupment positions and royalty payments against the relevant agreements.
- Read and interpret royalty provisions in contracts, identify the financial implications and investigate discrepancies or unusual movements.
- Maintain complete supporting documentation, reconciliations, review evidence and internal controls for all royalty activity.
- Coordinate with accounting, games publishing, business development and legal teams to obtain reliable data and resolve open items.
- Oversee royalty management for all Atari studios, globally, and establish consistent processes across the Atari organization.
- Support royalty-related accounting, including accruals, forecasts, payment preparation, audit requests and responses to partner queries.
- Act as the central point of contact for royalty questions, ensuring issues are followed through rather than left between teams.
- Identify opportunities to improve, automate and standardize royalty processes across entities, systems and reporting cycles.
- Contribute to a stronger control environment by documenting processes, testing key controls and recommending practical improvements.
Requirements & Qualifications
- Demonstrated experience managing royalties, licensing finance, revenue share reporting or a closely related function in media and entertainment; experience in games is strongly preferred.
- Strong ability to interpret commercial contracts and translate contractual terms into accurate financial calculations and reporting.
- Experience owning a recurring reporting or payment cycle where accuracy, completeness and deadlines matter.
- A rigorous, audit-minded approach to reviewing numbers, reconciling data, documenting decisions and identifying exceptions.
- Sound judgement and critical thinking, with the confidence to challenge information that does not look right and investigate until the issue is understood.
- Strong follow-through: you will be comfortable chasing data, decisions and actions across teams and keeping work moving to completion.
Nice to have / Preferred
- Experience in the video games or entertainment industry, including working with publishers, licensors, developers or platform partners.
- Experience managing royalty processes across multiple entities, jurisdictions, currencies or accounting systems.
- Experience supporting internal and external audits, royalty audits, contractual reviews or partner disputes.
- Experience improving or automating royalty reporting, reconciliations or control processes.
- Familiarity with revenue recognition, accruals, forecasting and month-end accounting in a licensing or content business.
- Experience reviewing or coordinating royalty activity across an acquired business or group structure.
What we offer
Atari is building a more consistent global operating model across a group of game studios and businesses, including Nightdive, Coatsink, Stormteller, Early Morning Studios, Infogrames, Hipster Whale, Digital Eclipse, and Implicit Conversions. This role offers the opportunity to establish a critical control and reporting function across a growing international games group, work directly with teams across the business, and make a visible improvement to how royalty management operates.
Alongside that, we offer flexible hours, enhanced holiday, company sick pay, pension enrolment, and annual pay reviews. You'll also benefit from enhanced maternity and paternity leave, dependants leave, career breaks, and bi-annual appraisals. Additional benefits include life insurance, a health cash plan, and mental health support through Saldo, plus metro pass and cycle schemes, in-person and virtual events, access to previously released titles, and the chance to work with cutting-edge technology.
EEO Statement
Atari is an equal opportunity employer and we are committed to providing a workplace free from harassment and discrimination. We are committed to equal employment regardless of race, religion or lack thereof, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, medical condition, veteran status, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, parental status, genetic information, political affiliation, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate.