Pros
It's fun being in the video game industry You can drink beer There are a decent selection of snacks Most people very smart so you don't really get as frustrated from dumb co-workers Working in art doesn't seem that bad
Cons
Managers discourage employees from doing beneficial side projects to increase workflow efficiency (despite having plenty of free time without any work to do) Most employees are underpaid (Many employees who should be SDETs are given the title "Technical Tester" and require you to code. Starting salary for this was comparable to Seattle's min wage of $15/hr) Job advancement is non existent (and if you do you'll likely be underpaid) Most roles require extensive overtime (There are always people still at work past 7pm) The Microsoft culture is still strong at Bungie (Managers don't like when you disagree, people fear not getting contracts renewed) Management at all levels either have no vision or they just don't communicate it well Managers constantly remind you that you are easily replaceable The company has grown in size extensively over the past year which has watered down the cool workplace culture almost completely. "Contracting" here involves working full-time for many years with the hope of being converted to full time. There was literally no difference in working hours or conditions for contract employees, it's just a lazy way to pay employees cheaply and avoid giving them benefits. A lot of narcissistic people who think they are the greatest for working at Bungie. As a result of this most employees drink the kool-aid and pat themselves on the back for the quality of the game releases despite public reaction. Cubicles would be a dream compared to the open floor plan at Bungie. Imagine having 500 people with 4' desks that are all in a row, now imagine being surrounded by rows and rows of other people are crammed in together. I'm not one to screw around at work but its hard to feel comfortable when at least 10-20 people around you can easily see your monitors. It's super dark inside despite managers attempts to alleviate this problem. You have to constantly chug coffee to stay awake in this kind of environment. It's about as dark as a movie theater when they are playing previews. Everyone is super socially awkward. Most people don't acknowledge each other and it's really weird. This causes the problem of everyone wanting to work by themselves and treats having to help someone as a major inconvenience. I honestly thought it would be amazing working here but it wasn't. While trying to find new employment I felt trapped in a "dream job" yet it was anything but a dream.