Want to be a Grunt/Peon? - Technical Quality Assurance Tester Blizzard Entertainment Employee Review
- 3.0Apr 16, 2011Technical Quality Assurance TesterFormer Employee
Pros
Free games? Great resume entry Free soda?
Cons
Massive overtime, no social life Biased promotions New management every 4 months
5
Other Employee Reviews
- 5.0Nov 29, 2023Software EngineerCurrent Employee, more than 1 yearIrvine, CA
Pros
I started about 2 years ago, in the aftermath of issues Blizzard had at the time. All employees were required to take MANY online courses that spanned safety, discrimination, attention to bias, and the like, so I saw no issues as everybody has embraced the new culture. My team is awesome! The other people are always very helpful, and an environment of real teamwork is present where we all put in effort to make sure each one of us is successful. As a senior experienced engineer, I made some suggestions soon after joining, and not only was I listened to, the management encouraged me to implement my ideas, which resulted in some better workflows. I really like the "Great, let's do better" attitude. I've had my share of NIH companies in the past, so this is a breath of fresh air.
Cons
After the post covid return to office wave, the previously free breakfast and lunch now costs money.
- 2.0Oct 7, 2023DesignerFormer Employee, more than 8 yearsIrvine, CA
Pros
- lots of people are kind as individuals. I made some amazing friends at Blizzard. - work/life balance is fine if you are very intentional about maintaining it.
Cons
- women consistently under promoted and under paid. - if you raise issues you will be talked down to and looked over for promo. - Bobby Kotick runs the show. Ybarra is just a figurehead. Kotick is clearly just trying to rack up a high score for his bank account, and has no real regard for employees. Many members of upper management were the same in my time there. - extremely low pay. People stay for 10+ years and leave with no stock options, no great pay history, nothing on par with what they deserve. Over time, I realized working at Blizzard was somewhat like being in an abusive relationship. Some escape, and some find it tough or impossible to leave, and become accustomed to or excuse the systemic poor treatment.
5
