Riot Games Reviews

Pros

Riot Games is a fantastic company, and I feel privileged to be part of this team. I’m surrounded by some of the brightest people I’ve ever met, and I’m constantly being pushed off my comfort zone by the type of challenges and problems we’re solving on a daily basis. It feels like a truly unique place in Gaming created by Gamers.

So, what’s so special about it? Let me try to break it down by sections.

Career opportunities:

Riot Games promotes open feedback culture and the notion of continuous self-development. It feels that you're the sole owner of your success here due to the flat structure and how much freedom each Rioter is given. Everyone is encouraged to share their ideas, provide feedback and challenge the established notions. Though, to be fair, this is harder and harder to do due to the rapid growth of the company. Empowerment is a key word here - everyone is given the opportunity to solve problems and think creatively without being micromanaged. It's very common to hear that we "hire to elevate" so that each new hire always pushes the bar higher, or at the very least this is the genuine intent. As a result, there are many opportunities to learn and get coaching from some of the brightest people in the industry today.

The company facilitates multiple personal development resources to all Rioters (formal training, certifications, assessments, 1on1s, development plans, mentorship opportunities). Every Rioter can sign-up to a training course with the approval from a manager. And so far in my experience, this is highly encouraged.

Compensation & Benefits:

In my experience, the Compensation is according to the market standards. Sometimes higher, sometimes lower depending on the role and the priority that the company puts into certain areas. For example, Engineering is a high priority area for Riot, so it’s reflected in compensation. Other areas in % terms may be closer to a market standard.

Of course, you can’t disconnect compensation from the cost of living. The reality, Riot Central campus is located in Santa Monica - an expensive area, so it’s something to consider when relocating from the outside. I recommend doing a thorough research on rent, transportation routes, and general expenses before committing to a decision to move.

The benefits outside of salary are numerous and include standard things like private health care, dental care, eye care, free food, and snacks but also numerous not so usual benefits such as travel allowance, gaming allowance and gym subsidizing.

But most importantly I feel that the company cares about me as individual and valuing my contribution and provides numerous opportunities to learn and develop my skills. To me, this is the biggest benefit of being part of Riot.

Work / Life balance:

Riot Games is filled with passionate people who deeply care about what they do and feel committed to delivering player value. The company’s culture is very appealing if you’re a gamer and often I found myself volunteering my time because I wanted to get something done. And I know many Rioters do the same even if the company doesn’t technically demand that special commitment from you.

I believe that you own that relationship with the company 100%. After about one year with Riot, I learned how to manage my Work / Life balance better. So, in the end, I think it comes down to the individual to decide how much of that personal time you want to dedicate.

Now, my line of work doesn’t demand weekend work for example. If you’re in Esports or some Live Services functions, it may not be the same. Riot is big now; multiple functions demand different work schedules, overtime, and commitments from Rioters.

Senior Management:

The leadership team is stacked with some of the smartest people I’ve ever met. It’s not uncommon to see legendary game industry veterans walking in the halls of the Central Campus. Now, it goes without saying that Riot isn’t free from politics, as any big organization filled with humans and not robots. That said, I think that the leadership “walks the walk” when it comes to our core values and being laser focused on our audience.

Advice to Management

Make sure you do not surround yourself with the "Yes-Men". Strive to stay connected with the company and the regular Rioters that don't have exposure to the leadership layers. Especially on the Regional level since our offices are now all over the world. As we continue expanding on a global scale, it's important that we preserve our culture not just in the Central Campus but globally.

Pros

- Working on difficult problems at a large scale
- Feels like you actually matter here
- Fully-stocked kitchens and huge cafeteria
- Fantastic compensation
- Great PTO policy

Advice to Management

Don't stall on promotions or compensation increases for high performers. Annual team performance reviews are basically useless, people won't ask for reviews from those who will be more harsh.

Pros

- Amazing cafeteria and campus. You won't want to go home.

- Open PTO policy. No need to feel bad about taking PTO for sick days!

- There are some VERY good people here and you'll make lifelong friends.

- There are many resources available to you if you're interested in learning. I've never known a company so focused on education!

Advice to Management

You hired too many bad seeds too high up and transformed the company to be an ego-filled, land-grabbing, political environment. It's been suggested many times that you need to re-evaluate your senior leadership yet there hasn't been any significant change in the past four or five years. I will suggest it again.

Get rid of meritocracy-speech because it blatantly isn't true. It would be one thing if Riot recognized it was a political battlefield and accepted it, but telling Rioters that there's an open feedback culture when there clearly isn't is disingenuous and sets people up to fail. You bring in all of these people who believe in the Riot vision but it's quickly apparent that it's just a facade.

My biggest confusion that I'd like to see resolved: what do you want to be? Do you actually want to have a healthy culture and a safe environment? Do you want people to treat this as more than a job? Because from what I've seen, those who try to change Riot for the better, those who have poured their true hearts and souls into this company and its people, are the ones punished. For years now the easiest things to act on (for example, removing politicians and doing some deep introspection at a high level) have been ignored and it seems like Riot enjoys being a ruthless, mental health-draining place under the guise of meritocracy.

Take feedback seriously. Challenge yourself to be better. There are too many people at Riot who are scared of doing and saying the right thing because their paycheck-to-paycheck life is on the line and now they're held hostage. Riot has so much power and resources; you could truly be the best place in the world to work if you just got a little uncomfortable and vulnerable. But I guess those Fortune articles are enough to let you sleep at night.

Pros

The culture is exactly what you would expect from a gaming start up. The campus and open office is great. Food?

Advice to Management

Management needs to trust the people they hire to actually do their jobs.

Pros

Some of the great thing about this company is that there are no hidden rules that I have found with other companies (i.e. Ubisoft). I have worked in AAA titles ever since I started my Animating career five years ago so I know this is a great place to work. I enjoy the other people that I work with as they know what they are doing and I don't have to watch over them 24/7.

Advice to Management

Take a look at some of the new people you bring in along with some of your senior level management.

Pros

-Free snacks
-Open PTO
-Nice campus
-Advanced screening of movies
-Play as many games of League you want during the day

Advice to Management

Pretty much every negative review is accurate or has a lot that I can't disagree with. Riot cares more about if you play video games and will do what they say and when they say it than if you're good at your job. The level of mediocrity there is pretty outstanding.

The engineering teams are a train wreck. Most of the staff is trying to leave, but can't get hired anywhere. The only team that has their stuff together and would be worth joining is Art. Everyone else will stagnate your career.

Audit your managers and leadership. About 40% of them are holding you back from being on the on tier 1 with companies like EA, Activision, Valve and Blizzard.

Pros

Great work environment. Great culture

Pros

Coming from big corporate, this was a huge breath of fresh air. The company is still young enough to be nimble, but big enough to put resources towards what it wants to accomplish. I feel comfortable being myself, and the people here all have something to nerd out about, even if it isn't always games. The dress code is casual, but everyone is super passionate. It has opportunity to make new things, and carve out your own mark. The campus is amazing. The meal plan has helped me be healthier than I've ever been (even though the pizza makes me want to choose otherwise), and I couldn't imagine any other way to bond with my coworkers than using our awesome computer and peripherals to battle it out on any number of different games.

Advice to Management

Don't let the allure of all the things distract you from what you really want to accomplish. Just because something isn't made a priority now, doesn't mean that its any less important long-term.

Pros

The culture and workplace is amazing. If you want to work with the best and the brightest of the industry, this is the place to be. As long as you give your work 100%, Riot will give back to you, and be completely understanding if you need to work from home or need time for your family. Always looking to do right by their players and products.

Advice to Management

Leadership needs to have a tighter hold of what projects are green lit, and how much time and resources are devoted to them. Focus on the top priorities, and give those the resources they need to succeed.

Pros

Leader in the Industry. Growing all the time. Inspiring workplace and colleagues. Great Benefits and resources. Imagine working at Disney in the early days, with all the potential stories yet to be told-- that's what working at Riot Games feels like. The sky is the limit.

Advice to Management

More communication with candidate from Riot to the candidate through the background check, and other final checks before coming into Denewb. I didn't give notice to my former employer until the offer was signed and delivered and there was little communication during this time.