Goodgame Studios Employee Reviews about "germany"

Pros

Some sense of organization and transparency. Quite competitive salary if you really push it.

Cons

Often very stressful and toxic environment. 'Flat hierarchy', but still a lot of hierarchy. Always speaking about being short on budget. Very corporate structure when it comes to asking for software/hardware, even though it feels like a startup - people are expected to handle the dishwasher, close windows before leaving, almost non-existent cleaning, etc. Often sounds like management has no real control over deadlines or what should investors expect. No bonus system or clear development path. Even though it's an English-speaking company, you better learn German, cause you'll hear it more than English.

Pros

-A really great work environment, a fantastic balance between work/life balance with the various benefits offered by the company. Employers are careful to employ those who will compliment the healthy working relationships we have as a department, which goes to create a dynamic yet relaxed working environment, making Monday morning something to look forward to! -There is a flat heirachy system in place within the department, which allows interns and full time employees to take responsibilites and tasks according to their skills and determination, not their pay-grade, which allows one to remain challenged and motivated. - Regular feedback allows very quick growth and development as an employee, also forms good personal bonds with the department/team lead.

Cons

As a foreign worker moving to Germany the starting intern wage is difficult to live on with accomodation and various other things to pay for, saviong/external income are required to survive a 6 month internship.

Pros

Young and friendly company, very dynamic and fast-growing. It provides a wonderful opportunity for those who don't have any previous experience and are trying their best to start within the industry. Nice overall enivornment, everybody speaks English and tries to help you in the case you need help. You can do almost everything from your computer. You can join German classes, which are quite cheap and lots of outdoors activities. It's multicultural and you have the possbility to meet a lot of people from different countries and cultures.

Cons

Despite it's not the company's fault, it's not easy to find a flat in Hamburg and is not cheap to live here either.

Pros

Really nice people from all over the world, nice to share different experiences, feedback meetings each week - very helpful to improve yourself and your work

Cons

Very big pressure, no much time to deliver results, you have chances to be kicked out if you are not performing as they expect. Also the salary is not that much for Germany.

Pros

Nice environment, cool offices. Colleagues atmosphere is really great and it seems like being in a permanent Erasmus with people from all around the world. Some office perks coffee, milk, cereals, fruit. Free soft drinks and beer in the evening is nice to spend more time with colleagues not talking about work. Events are nice and usually spectacular. The office is nice, modern installations, nice chairs, couches to chill out, but your overall experience will depend A LOT on where you finally are working. Teams are very heterogeneous The CEO seems a nice and smart guy when you talk with him and he has been open to chat with employees. Sadly with the increase of workforce this has become more and more difficult, in addition to the arising problems of the company and nowadays it is almost impossible. Maybe this is obscuring his understanding of what is going on actually in the company and maybe this lack of proper diagnoses is why he's somehow overwhelmed by the current events. Unfortunately for him, newcomers don't get to know him and this is playing against him.

Cons

Sometimes it looks like the chiefs don't know exactly what's happening in their own company or simply they don't care at all. Not sure. Currently a large amount of employees do not trust on the management. Especially after some mysterious dismissals of people supposedly because of poor performance, that their direct superiors had no idea about. Founded rumors say that the real reason was related with some try to create a Betriebsrat, but there was even a disabled person among the fired people that outraged the media and placed the board in the sight of all critics since it was a really wrong movement. Apart from that, salaries are below the average in the industry in general, especially for foreigners who don't know the salary standards in Germany. But the confidentiality clause that it's signed with the contract disallows them to talk with their German colleaguese contract disallows them to talk with their German colleaguese contract disallows them to talk with their German colleagues to compare. Less vacation days than others. By the way, many foreigners don't know they can negotiate their vacation days, and they are not informed, what is somehow an abuse on them. This, in combination with the fact that Hamburg is the most or one of the most expensive cities in Germany makes it somehow miserable. Additionally, the company is incredibly heterogeneous in the people management and you may be lucky and have a motivating boss who promotes you, or having the bad luck of falling in the wrong team with a technically unskilled boss with no people management abilities at all, who not only does not promote you but also cuts down any innovation and doesn't value ideas nor potential. But sadly it is not uncommon at all to find incredibly valuable and experienced senior professionals led by people with no experience and no criteria to make decisions. Career plan is almost non existent unless you're a trainee. There is apparently no effort whatsoever to retain talent and knowledge, since skilled people is let go leaving behind a hole of confusion. Even more, talented senior who bring ideas and initiatives are put aside to assign those merits to other inexperienced and unskilled people who, maybe never had heard about such topics in their life. There is an outrageous level of nepotism at some black spots of the company where long term colleagues protect and cover each other in detriment of others. Apparently no one cares about this. When people is let go the lack of self criticism and the rationalization talking bad about the leaving colleagues to the staying ones by the superiors just to justify why experts are let go is absolutely outrageous. The loudly announced core values (Honesty, Passion, Innovation, Communication, Focus and Collaboration) are only an empty shell. Dishonest behavior is accepted naturally, Innovation is cut down, Passion is considered too often a negative trait, Communication is almost non existent, Collaboration is contaminated by politics and personal egos, and Focus is very difficult in this scenario. All this creates an incredible atmosphere of frustration that has led many talented people to leave the company to find better career plan and opportunities. The dripping of seniors leaving and not being replaced or done at the most by juniors is scary. No one investigates why people literally flee from some departments/teams. The company internal toxic atmosphere, and the external perception of the brand as a customer-squeezer has destroyed totally the magic that the company once had in the past.

Pros

Friendly working environment. Great colleagues/leads who are always willing to help and cooperare with you as best as possible. Definitely recommended

Cons

Salary is low compared to other companies in Germany.

Pros

The company is real and solid, located in an amazing park with very spacious, luminous and modern offices. The general atmosphere is very friendly and relaxed, everyone (so far è_é) has been nice and helpful. Free unlimited access to coffee/chocolate/milk/cereals/fruit! This place is Candyland :) Recruitment was normal, with a punctual exchange of emails to answer my questions, a preliminary phone interview with Human Resources and a video interview with my future departmental superior.

Cons

Free unlimited access to coffee/chocolate/milk/cereals/fruit! This place is gonna make me fat :( The pay is not exactly 'high level' expecially for a German company, but in the end it aligns with today's European market for Internships and Jr Employees. Some details were not too clear from the remote interview (specifically, the exact costs of some optional perks like language courses and transportation tickets) but got clarified through a few email ... and it all was clearly reviewed and explained right the first day.

Pros

The people I was set up to work with were amazing! friendly, honest, open and really there to inspire each other. The passion we all had for the project was unquestionable. They had a great onboarding team.

Cons

After 2 weeks of work, and after the onboarding team helped me with finding an appartment and everything else involved in my move to Germany the studio I worked for was closed. I honestly would not be suprised if the upper management were a bunch of 12 year old kids. They knew exactly well their company was not doing great, in fact it was mentioned. Why would they bother hiring new folks anyway and sack them a week or 2 later? I think the answer is simple. A mixture of abysmal stupidity and not caring at all what they are putting people though. People came over from all over the world, with pregnant wifes. They all, like me relied on the company. This joke costed me thousands of euros, I relied on the company, they even helped me finding a flat which now I have to pay off because of the notice period. the reallocation fee was never paid to me as well. A lot of people were left in a similair or worse situation.

Pros

Modern, comfort and bright offices with plants, an environment with a pool, park and parking, computers with multiple screens and headsets, good work-life balance, quarterly team events with a budget per person, amazing parties at least 4 times per year on the best party venues in Hamburg, bio-fruit delivered twice per week, cafeterias with kicker, TV, couches, games, books, muesli, milk, catering in the cafeteria twice per week - a full meal for 4 Euros including vegetarian meals, nice colleagues from all over the world speaking three languages or more, German and English language courses offered at the company.

Cons

Low salaries, unrealistic goals set by leads without technical competence or even social skills, working under the fear to be fired, offering flexible working hours in the interviews and not delivering, only temporary contracts of 3 months up to a year in the first two years, fixed working hours, very little communication among different departments, expensive coffee machines making lousy coffee, ineffective feedback meetings, cheap, hardworking and quiet people being preferred.