Blizzard Entertainment Employee Reviews about "cost of living"
65% would recommend to a friend
(21 total reviews)
Mike Ybarra
51% approve of CEO
Top Review Highlights by Sentiment
Excerpts from user reviews, not authored by Glassdoor
- "great people you work with at the lower levels but diminishes as you go up the ranks" (in 158 reviews)
- "Low pay across the board except for the rare few dozen who are either execs or particularly special/tenured devs." (in 84 reviews)
- "People who are still considered new are given less trust and struggle moving the needle for their role, especially middle management on non" (in 63 reviews)
- "Most of the have zero management training, no college education, and no leadership qualities whatsoever." (in 27 reviews)
- "Low compensation in an exceptionally high cost of living area and ever rising demands" (in 26 reviews)
Ratings by Demographics
This rating reflects the overall rating of Blizzard Entertainment and is not affected by filters.
Found 21 of over 1K reviews
Updated Nov 29, 2023
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Reviews about "cost of living"
Return to all Reviews- 2.0Jul 29, 2014Anonymous EmployeeCurrent Employee, more than 3 yearsIrvine, CA
Pros
Looks good on your resume. Fun environment. Most people love being there and working there. Lots of great amenities and perks on campus.
Cons
Not a lot of room to grow in your career; many people stuck in their role for many years without many chances to change or grow. Substandard pay, especially for the hours you work, and the high cost of living in Irvine. Very much a corporation.
9 - 5.0Jan 12, 2021Software EngineerCurrent Employee, more than 1 yearIrvine, CA
Pros
Very fun and exciting company to work at.
Cons
Salary is a bit low for Orange County cost of living.
- 3.0Jun 3, 2021Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET)Former Employee, more than 3 yearsIrvine, CA
Pros
The people are amazing to work with. There is a real sense of comradery and creative problem solving. Everyone is really cool and has a passion for what they do.
Cons
Management and Leadership is lacking in transparency, especially when it comes to policy the company is enacting. The attrition rates have shot through the roof on the team I had worked with. When everyone you respect and love working with either gets laid off or moves on, it's not a great feeling. Any bonuses or offerings are lumped together with cost of living increases, which means if you aren't in the top 20-30% of contributors you are not getting wage increases that meet cost of living increases.
3 - 5.0Jun 20, 2014Anonymous EmployeeCurrent Employee, more than 5 yearsIrvine, CA
Pros
Salary is more or less the average for the industry. Perks are pretty good. Volleyball court, nice cafeteria, gym and more. There are plenty of career opportunities and growth.
Cons
Depending on the team, leadership can go from pretty good to average. The high cost of living in Southern California doesn't help when your salary is industry average or less.
3 - 2.0Aug 18, 2015Anonymous EmployeeCurrent Employee
Pros
-Good amount of pleasant and talented people with common interests -Lot of diverse training available
Cons
-Atrocious work\life balance -Low compensation in an exceptionally high cost of living area and ever rising demands
9 - 4.0Feb 23, 2021Senior Test Analyst - QACurrent EmployeeIrvine, CA
Pros
QA is valued here, the work is exciting and engaging
Cons
pay rate is low compared to cost of living / other similar companies in the area
- 5.0Jan 30, 2018Anonymous EmployeeCurrent Employee, less than 1 yearIrvine, CA
Pros
Blizzard is a great place to work. The atmosphere is friendly and relaxed but people work hard and you are encouraged to continuously improve.
Cons
Orange County is expensive and salaries do not quite reflect the cost of living
2 - 4.0Sep 22, 2020Senior Software Engineer ICurrent Employee, more than 3 yearsIrvine, CA
Pros
Lots of entry level positions and senior developers to learn from
Cons
Compensation is terrible considering the cost of living in Irvine
- 2.0Apr 17, 2020VFX ArtistCurrent Employee, more than 8 yearsIrvine, CA
Pros
-Some welcome benefits, especially for parents, or families who want to be parents. -Work-life balance is good. - Abilility to purchase blizzard gear with discounts(although that has decreased a lot over the years) -The campus -The Blizzard lore and history
Cons
- Overall compensation is low for the cost of living. - No stock options or other kind of benefits that vest and keep people vested in the company. -Low performance of the company during the last years brought the bonuses to an all-time low. - Very poor career advancement(amazing individuals leave because they are not treated right and not promoted over the course of years, sometimes even a decade).
10 - 5.0Aug 4, 2021Principal Technical ArtistCurrent Employee, more than 8 yearsOrange, CA
Pros
Really good place to work. Good people and good work ethics. I've worked at the company for 10 years now and am happy to contribute 10 more years.
Cons
Salary is not up to par with the cost of living in Irvine.
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