NCsoft Reviews

Current Employee – been working at NCsoft

Pros – Virtually everyone is a professional, with some who are really outstanding. Nearly every team is focused and works like a well-oiled machine - when they get the proper support.

Cons – Management tends to be riddled with some people who really should be better at managing people. The turnover rate is really high - between periodic layoffs and skilled workers just getting better offers from somewhere else.

Advice to Senior Management – Take a hard look at where you're losing workers to other companies, and then look at the people managing those workers. Chances are, you'll find someone who isn't good at managing people, and may actually be driving good workers away.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at NCsoft

Pros – It's a great start in the game industry, and if they happen to make a game you love, it could be worth it to work there.

Cons – Company direction changes with the wind, and directives from above are rarely followed by the support (budget, manpower, etc.) to actually follow them.

Advice to Senior Management – Analyze the way the MMO marketplace is today, not the way it was ten years ago. Trying to do the same things you did ten years ago to be successful - that stopped working a few years ago - is not the path to success.

Current Employee – been working at NCsoft

Pros – Development teams are given a fair amount of autonomy to create the game they want to make.

The company was willing to take risks on some technologies and ideas.

They are the leading MMO developer in the world with many titles under their belt, they have the experience to create some fairly polished MMOs and to support them.

Cons – Senior management and corporate direction comes down without any feedback from the development teams whose fates are being decided.

Coordination amongst various development teams and knowledge sharing is not practiced, reinventing the wheel happens alot.

The lack of follow through on some project ideas and letting projects die creates frustrated employees.

Advice to Senior Management – More transparency in the decisions that are being made and the direction the company is going in, from highest level to lowest level.

Current Employee – been working at NCsoft

Pros – Working in Austin, competitive salaries, often good opportunities for career advancement, company generally tends to do the right thing for its employees (layoffs postponed as long as possible so that people can find positions elsewhere)

Cons – Rapid changes in direction from management, lack of focus, many burnouts especially in high-ranking positions, currently great deal of uncertainty due to high profile failure (Tabula Rasa). The Austin location especially is having serious morale issues.

Advice to Senior Management – Find a focus and stick to it, the whiplash is getting old. Politics between divisions is also getting more than a little old.

Former Employee – worked at NCsoft full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Stable, good game pedigree. There is a care about the quality of the product.

Cons – Korea runs the show mercilessly, and there are many layers of bureaucracy to go through to do anything. It adds to the pipeline when your studio has to use the central QA, and the central customer service even if they have those services in house. It's redundant and costly, both financially and time-wise. Decision-making sometimes seems arbitrary.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at NCsoft

Pros – Lots of luxuries from annual raises and not to shabby bonuses. Every now and then the company gives gifts to employee's. Vending machines are subsidized to 25 cents, there are no restrictions on internet access, and the people are very friendly and nice.

Cons – Employees are constantly worried about losing there jobs. Not because they do a bad job, but because HQ wishes they could fire everyone and make more money; but they can't easily. Some directions of management change every six months.

Advice to Senior Management – Advertise the games better.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at NCsoft

Pros – Most of the people on my team are pretty smart and we work well together. Everyone puts in their fair share.

Cons – New Sr management has recently been installed. Nobody really likes change, but I believe that the changes that are being applied are doing nothing but creating red tape for the sake of "creating processes"

Advice to Senior Management – Stop it with the over analysis of everything. IT has no problem with ITIL and scheduling windows. Please stop making it so difficult to do day-today tasks.

Former Employee – worked at NCsoft

Pros – Nice atmosphere, friendly people, great benefits and generous salaries. The company invests in people and gives generous trainings, etc.

Cons – Lack of pespective and overall lack of ambition and strategy from the company's upper management.

Advice to Senior Management – Communicate more between different offices, become a truly global company. Be more rational in fixing priorities. Hire great managers from outside of the game industry.