KingsIsle Entertainment Employee Reviews about "work life balance"

Pros

Good balance of the structure in a professional organization and the creative environment of a game studio. Financial discipline has kept the studio from doing a lot of layoffs over the years. Great work life balance compared to most game studios. Little to no overtime unless driving towards a specific strategic target. Collaborative high caliber employees who truly want to create a great product. I can count on one hand the number of employees who were truly difficult or didn't subscribe to being a team player. Opportunities for someone with experience/success in the mobile game market to make a real impact.

Cons

Limited opportunities for career growth depending upon the level which you come into the organization. Very little experience making mobile games and slow to hire subject matter experts which would impact their success in the mobile game market.

Pros

The people were amazing. Very little crunch. Good work/life balance. Creativity used to be king. But mostly the people are what made it a good place to work ... Excluding the execs.

Cons

Executives. The company is being run into the ground due to ego, hubris, and an inability to make decisions. They changed business models and left a profitable game out to dry while chasing dollar signs in the mobile market without any understanding of how that market worked. Good people got fed up and left or were let go because they didn't toe the company line. Yes Men were rewarded. Failure was rewarded. Pay was under industry standard and advancement next to impossible.

Pros

If you're looking for a great place to learn and grow with a positive atmosphere then this is the place for you. Great team of coworkers with a work hard / play hard attitude. Work life balance is just right and over time is not over done (when its necessary). Decent benefit package as the company is growing so there are changes for the better each year.

Cons

At present there are none.

Pros

Solid pay for most jobs if you can actually survive the overly self- indulgent interview process. Nice, friendly, talented local people who like to have fun, play all sorts of games and be creative when allowed to be. Lots of underused talent in the studio. Average benefit package with the very occasional company outing or play day. A consistent paycheck for the moment. OK work / life balance if you completely check out and put forth little care or effort towards the sinking ship around you.

Cons

Kingsisle isn't Blizzard or EA, and the last relevant game they shipped is almost 10 years old, but upper management/HR will treat you like you need to be a ROCK STAR just to interview for them regardless. Owner is totally unqualified, narcissistic, rude and apathetic towards his employees. Over the past ten years their two(ish) successful live MMO titles have declined in profitability and the company remains directionless with no sustainable future. Upper management, is filled with sycophants and decision dodgers, who form a wall of exclusion when it comes to making creative or informed decisions. Just trying to get ideas heard by decision makers is judged harshly by middle management and frowned upon. Industry experience and experienced opinions are very undervalued, with very few exceptions. There is an overall fear of accountability throughout all levels of management causing production delays, needless iteration, and stagnation of creativity. This translates to employees whose moral is so low they have little care or input left to give. Ill informed, game design choices and management decisions made by middle and upper management, who are drawing at straws due to lack of experience. Self centered management not company or product focused. No appreciation or understand of current game design standards, analytical data or marketing trends. We know better attitudes on a corporate level, very xenophobic and paranoid about people outside the inner circle . Opaque approach to mobile game development, with zero analytic transparency and zero sharing of company goals and direction. Recent shift to mobile was many years late and volumes of experience short for actual success. Can't ship a product besides content for Wizard 101. 30 to 48 month development cycles for mobile games that if even released become shovelware due to poor marketing, monetization design and analytical expertise. Company laid off the entire marketing department because upper management "knew better". Current roster of three "shipped" mobile games took 4+ years to develop and currently earn less than $15K gross revenue collectively according to App Annie. Very corporate, no game industry culture. No room for growth or advancement anymore, management spots are locked out and upper management are hostile to newcomers. PTO time is ridiculously monitored by the hour with a nickel and dime mentality. Creativity is only encouraged when it comes from upper management brainstorms or select middle management followers. Middle management has serious decision paralysis and are ill equipped to lead teams. Lost over 90 employees to layoffs last year thanks to their failed mobile transition and are suffering severe attrition on a weekly basis. Planning to give my notice immediately upon finding another position.

Pros

Lots of talent, very friendly work environment, decent work/life balance. There were some very fun employee days, although those started to become less frequent.

Cons

Not enough trust from management and ownership, employees not empowered to go above and beyond, limited advancement.