Activision Reviews in Santa Monica, CA

Pros

Working at Activision is great because we're the top publishing company of the game industry. The workplace is great, and the development team I'm in is very united. It's fun to make video games. The support and work perks are pretty good.

Cons

Its a little frustrating the poor work and life balance. I love making video games. I take pride in my work. I want to deliver a really good fun quality polished game, but certain conditions don't allow this. Rushing and crunching are bad. My heath suffers from it. Which makes me feel under-appreciated and disposable.

Advice to Senior Management

If you want 100% you must give 700% back. 200% salary, 200% vacation, and 3 years development cycles. That would make me really happy.

Pros

Pros:
- #1 publisher, recognizable on the resume
- Enormous resources (if your project is deemed worthy)
- Motivation comes from working with dedicated people (in production, not sure of other depts)

Cons

Cons:
- milking the margins comes first. So, if you love games, be prepared to leave that love at the door
- the project you're on matters a lot more than it should, even if you're doing as much or less than someone on a less prominent title. recognition and reward follows the revenue-generators only.
- all other departments will get recognition before production (if production even gets recognized). it shows in the bonus/incentive structure. it shows in the promotion rate. it shows in all the company events that the executives speak in.
- it always felt like the execs just want to be in hollywood. they make frequent, huge expenditures to play with hollywood instead of investing it back into the company (new IPs?) or its employees.

Advice to Senior Management

you need to retain top talent through any 2 of the 3 (at least): compensation, growth opportunity, and security.

Pros

-Working on games
-Smart coworkers
-Good Benefits
-Exciting brands that people enjoy the world over
-2 weeks off during Christmas

Cons

-Growth is built off schmoozing and kissing upper management buttocks
-The company is built off a high school system. The more you drink the better your off
-There is no recognition for your hard work
-Working on the same brands over and over again
-Employees are an easily expendable commodity

Advice to Senior Management

Grow internally. Respect employees that care about the company and brand, not how much alcohol that can be consumed during company functions

Pros

Create friends and build great networks. Free drinks-non alcohol.

Cons

Level of respect is low. Everyone fights for higher position and not by perfomance. It's all base on the people you know to advance.
The fear of losing job because it's a contract job.

Advice to Senior Management

Give permanent position to Testers.

Pros

place is full of smart/capable people, great place to cut your teeth on games business, lots of people leave for promotions elsewhere,

Cons

hard hitting culture, long hours, poor performers are shunned, not "corporate" persay...but definitely a "business minded" culture

Advice to Senior Management

Keep investing in your best people, they're the ones creating the hit franchises

Pros

Some really great games although getting much to into re-hashing old titles over and over again. Opportunity to work with good people, but more and more bad people joining since the merger. Losing all creativity, passion, and understanding of gaming.

Cons

No work-life balance. Management has no care or respect for employees. Mindset is to push boxes out the door with no care, regard, or knowledge of what is even being sold at times. More overhead since the merger. The company is getting fat and the management are arrogant.

Advice to Senior Management

Humility and passion - it's what made you number one. You have forgotten that and lost most of the talent that got you to the number one position.

Pros

Opportunity to work on major licenses and titles, witness development process, opportunity to improve game product, good processes, dedicated management

Cons

Too many temporary employees that can lack passion putting strain on other team members, recognition of professionalism and dedication is not given soon enough causing some stagnation, separation and disregard from "full time qa" toward their "temp" brethren who can be working hard to separate themselves from the rest, strange attitudes and strictness regarding breaks/lunch with little regard towards real-life emergencies and issues

Advice to Senior Management

Allow opportunity for lower rank staff to provided feedback to their managers in an unbiased and anonymous fashion, some of the "senior qa" have unprofessional attitudes and seem to think they are "Safe" with their position and can therefore be sarcastic and offer uncalled for, negative and unconstructive feedback

Pros

Activision is a stable powerhouse built on a very conservative approach to making games. This means greater job security in tough economic times. Activision is also big enough to absorb some losses and find work for employees when a game tanks. If you're a good employee and you happen to get in with the right people you can move up quickly and draw a very competitive salary. The royalty structure is also a nice addition.

Cons

As Activision grows its becoming increasingly corporate in many ways. This may be a positive for some people, but most creative types I work with and myself find it increasingly stifling and stuffy. I think the growth has outpaced the competence of the management, and often bad decisions from the top seem arbitrary and counterproductive. Morale is really up and down at some studios. There is just a bit too much cronyism for my taste as well.

Advice to Senior Management

There are many creative and talented people working at this company, but for some reason the approach of management is to be fearful and and overly controlling of their employees. There also is a strain of immaturity and passive aggressiveness in the way management deals with personnel issues. I think greater top down transparency, a focus on fostering a open creative culture, and a concerted effort to battle the depersonalization of a growing work force would be great improvements to a strong company.

Pros

Great senior management, lots of responsibility, nice office space, fast-paced and high energy environment, very close relationship to executives. Flat organization and very open and reliable workplace.

Cons

Low pay, not much in terms of career advancement, small company, outdated technology. I had a late 90's desktop monitor, and a very slow computer. IT is very slow at responding to requests and they do not seem to concerned about employees workplace satisfaction

Advice to Senior Management

Acknowledge good work and promote! Increase pay!! Activision doesn't even pay its employees half of what competitors do.

Pros

Policies and procedures are set and make a lot of sense. Almost all departments are open to helping one another understand exactly what it is they do and how they need things done. In Production, there are a lot of good people in Associate Producer and Production Coordinator (Production Assistant at other companies) roles who work hard and know what they're doing. Work / Life balance is encouraged by most of upper management and in some cases Activision will work with you if you have special needs. Most teams are flexible with what hours their employees work, so earlier or later time schedules are often times approved.

Cons

Policies and procedures are often not followed. The good people are bled dry from chasing the carrot that gets dangled in front of them.

Advice to Senior Management

Tell employees the truth about why certain decisions were made. Also learn to apologize to employees, not just thank them behind plastic smiles.