Creative Assembly reviews

CA use to be an incredible company to work for, however over the last 6 years it has been run into the ground by terrible leadership. The recent redundancies have really proven this as the work force has been cut and yet not one member of the senior leadership team has been put at risk. The salaries these people are on is absolutely shocking and they have shown zero remorse to any of the staff, especially Gareth who enjoys rocking up in his custom porche!! Lets not also forget how he is also close "friends" with the new HR director from CA North (she has zero HR experience and yet is paid double what the previous one was on who has all the experience). No-one ever really understood the point in that studio either and yet they are still going! The whole process has brought so much to light and really opened peoples eyes to the shocking truth of what's been going on over the last few years. Avoid like the plague they don't deserve your skills and talent!!

Senior management should break away from their insular perspectives and better embrace the realities of our industry. Upper management should consider training on how to provide effective feedback to employees. The current situation seems to involve long-term employees ascending to directorial and managerial positions without adequately considering fresh perspectives. The typical responses when one offers suggestions are: Please refrain from advising me; I have 12 years of experience and several certifications. We appreciate your input, but we have established methods based on our work in previous projects such as "Alien Isolation." I struggle to comprehend your suggestions. This might stem from being deeply ingrained in one specific workflow for the past 12 years. Please remember your role; I am the one who made the hiring decisions. Often, it appears that management's approach tends toward instigating disorder rather than finding effective solutions. To improve something, meetings are necessary, but we seem to schedule excessive numbers of meetings for each issue, which often lead to suboptimal solutions. There's an overemphasis on process to the detriment of efficiency and task completion. There's a lack of clear direction within the team, resulting in undue pressure on less experienced staff and hindering productivity. The value of recruiting individuals from other AAA studios is undermined if their insights and suggestions are not considered. Work-life balance tends to blur for some employees, though thankfully, my team has set healthy boundaries. There have been instances where long-tenured employees threaten one's professional stability, which is far from ideal for a positive work environment. In essence, if an issue is brought to light and upper management disagrees, it seems the messenger is often penalized.