Big brother that has not left high school yet - Senior Software Engineer I Blizzard Entertainment Employee Review

4.0
Oct 26, 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- People and culture is fantastic - Bonus'es are un-heard of, this is a double edge sword. When they are high its good, when they are low you start to question your pay overall - Always something to do - The company cares about its core values - Company has a great talent pool - Company events are always good - Feels more like a family business even though the teams are pretty large - You get to make the best content in the industry

Cons

- Core values sometimes get in the way. At times people just need to do there job - IT department is the worst I have ever encountered - Computers don't get upgraded nearly as often as other companies (4+ year cycle where most companies have a 3 year cycle) - Still a small company mentality - Much of management is promoted from within, would be nice to have a good balance of experienced external management from bigger companies - Cross-polination of Game teams and other teams should be encouraged, but most teams tend to stay in a vacuum. Teams need to share idea's to help overall growth and foster new game idea's - Values get in the way of releasing games faster

Explore other reviews about Blizzard Entertainment

5.0
Jun 2, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Really great people, best and kindest in the business

Cons

Compensation is on lower side

2.0
Mar 23, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Depending on the team, you get to work with some great people. - Company events are fun and make you temporarily forget that you're still in a corporate environment. - You're near the games being released.

Cons

On the surface, the company talks a big game about being structured and performance-driven. In reality, it feels pretty chaotic once you’re actually in it. Expectations aren’t clearly defined, and what “success” looks like seems to shift depending on the week or who you’re talking to. You end up spending more time managing optics and trying to stay aligned with moving targets than actually doing solid engineering work. What makes it worse is how management handles team dynamics. Toxic behavior doesn’t really get addressed — if anything, it sometimes feels like it’s enabled. Feedback can feel very one-sided, and when you raise concerns, they’re not always taken seriously or represented fairly. There are definitely moments where the narrative about your performance doesn’t match the reality of what you’re actually doing day to day, which slowly kills trust. At a minimum, leadership needs to get better at clear communication, setting stable and objective expectations, and actually supporting both engineers and managers. Without that, even strong teams start to feel dysfunctional. Compensation doesn’t make up for it either. It often feels like decisions are driven by cost-cutting rather than recognizing real impact, which makes the whole environment feel more transactional than motivating. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this place in its current state, especially if you’re an experienced professional looking for a stable, well-run role.

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