Licensing Manager

Inbound work means negotiating the use of a brand, a likeness, music or a sports body's data, then making sure the game stays within what was agreed. Licensors usually hold approval rights over how their property appears, so the role runs an approvals process alongside production and flags what a design decision would cost in rights terms.

Outbound work is the reverse: merchandise, adaptations, partnerships and regional deals built on the studio's own properties. Both directions are contract work with deadlines, territories, royalties and renewal dates attached, and the practical risk is a term quietly expiring while a product still relies on it.

A Brand Manager shapes how a property is presented. A Contracts Manager handles agreements across the business. The licensing manager owns the rights that let a game contain what it contains.