Pros
- You can work on many video games you can name, and moving from studio to studio is of moderate difficulty. - Vacation policy is above average. - Stock options are a nice perk. - Amazingly passionate and brilliant talent. - Learn domain knowledge that is rarely found in other industries. - Good parties when your game succeeds.
Cons
- Bottom-line driven development: EA senior leadership cares only about appeasing shareholders at any expense, including overruling the experts they employ on creative/technical/morale impactful decisions, which often results in an overall longterm LOSS for short-term gains. - Crunch time is unhealthy; 100 hour weeks are common for 6 months at a time during gold-master/crunch. - Review process is a dog-pony show: promotions with no merit increases, RIFs during executive bonuses, and a consistent but tiny annual bonus are commonplace, save upper-middle management or higher.