PopCap Games Reviews

Former Employee – worked at PopCap Games full-time

Pros – It was a great company when I joined, great benefits, leaders who really appreciated their employees and treated them right. That all changed when EA acquired PopCap in 2011

Cons – As part of EA the benefits are dramatically worse and cost 10 times more. As an employee you're just a number now and EA could care less if you stay or go. There's no feeling of security at PopCap; it's no longer a fun place to work. A lot of the leadership has left along with most of the HR department (or should I say forced out).

Advice to Senior Management – Unfortunately there isn't anything you can say, their hands are tied by the Evil Empire that is EA.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at PopCap Games full-time

Pros – Great office spaces
Genuinely nice people
Good benefits
Great IP in games

Cons – Analysis Paralysis
Integration into EA is not going smoothly
Radomized leadership - always reacting, rarely proactive
Teams silo'd by franchise
When they laid off the culture team, they sucked the soul out of the building.

Advice to Senior Management – Stand up for what you believe in and stop chasing EA magic numbers and approval. Remember that not every game is a massive hit - you have to make some mistakes to have success.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at PopCap Games full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – The people: creative, passionate, bright. The space: open, spacious, fun, personalized. PopCap is fortunate to employ a lot of the best people in the industry at the company.

Cons – Struggles with communication and decision-making. Lack of transparency in company goals and expectations. PopCap seems to bleed with people who are conflict-avoiders.

Advice to Senior Management – Needs more leaders who are accountable and responsible. PopCap was once a super-fun place to work and produced a lot of fun games; I believe it can get back to that point if upper management makes it the priority.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at PopCap Games full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – - Work life balance
- Family culture style
- Good benefits
- Location

Cons – - Management style
- No clear owner of products
- Too much middle management
- No accountability when working on projects.

Advice to Senior Management – Find a company with good management skills and emulate them.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

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

Pros – great games to work on and fantastic people to work with.

Cons – The office was closed down.

Advice to Senior Management – think more carefully before you close down an office that is profitable and focussed on the company's strategic sweet spot.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at PopCap Games full-time

Pros – People are there that really want it to be a great place to work, dedicated teams and (for the time being) side benefits like food, massages, yoga and workout trainers. Trying to keep a small indie vibe under a publicly traded company.

Cons – ...Trying to keep a small indie vibe under a publicly traded company. Reorgs happen regularly, which can be good, but because it happens so frequently, job roles change often and leave folks confused.

Advice to Senior Management – Tough to say because it changes up so frequently...

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

Current Employee – been working at PopCap Games

Pros – it is very casual business atomsphere

Cons – people around is not so educated

Advice to Senior Management – recruite better people