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Rockstar Games

Part of Take-Two

Engaged Employer

Rockstar Games reviews

3.8

68% would recommend to a friend

(606 total reviews)

Sam Houser

77% approve of CEO

65% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.0

Compensation and benefits

3.9

Diversity & inclusion

3.8

Culture & values

3.7

Work/Life balance

3.6

Career opportunities

3.5

Senior management

Rockstar Games has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 606 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Rockstar Games employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Media & Communication industry (3.7 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

606 reviews
1.0
Jul 4, 2014

Welcome to the culture of FEAR!

Prefer to hide for fear of retaliation
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Games are popular and recognized but...

Cons

The rumors are true. You will be treated like a slave. Project is first, your life is second or third or eleventh. Crunch for show is the norm. You are forced to be there long hours even when there is nothing to do. Everybody then panics and things have to be done for yesterday. Terrible environment, everybody is frustrated. We made the most successful game in the world and everybody was miserable! Get ready to work long hours/weekends for months or years. You will get aggressive emails demanding you to work 6 days a week as a minimum. You will be threatened to be fired if you don't work every weekend and 12 hours a day. Everything is kept in secret so you don't know when the game is supposed to be done and stay late. Then deadlines are pushed and the crunch is extended for another 6 months. This can go on for years. Extremely passive aggressive managers that treat you like a new guy working at McDonalds even if you are very skilled or senior. All managers have this "you should feel grateful that you work here" attitude. People hate them with passion. Everybody is afraid of Sam. Everybody is walking on eggshells waiting for him to explode. Managers hide from him what is really going on in the project so he doesn't explode again. Culture of fear. You will get fired if you don't come on the weekend. You will get sued if you talk badly about us. You will get sued or fired for everything! Constant feeling of "something really bad is about to happen". My health suffered from it. Managers treat you badly and are extremely moody. Sam screams at them and they scream at the people below them until it reaches you. Horrible, horrible atmosphere. Some managers are abusive to the point of illegality but are protected by management. Managers treat people who leave Rockstar as traitors or losers. HR is on Rockstar's side. You feel trapped. You hear horrible stories happening at other Rockstar studios all the time but nothing changes. Really bad technology. RAGE engine is terrible. Crappy tools that are very limiting. Feeling of having to work handcuffed. Things are not automated enough and are done by hand by people that have to stay late. Brute force is the norm. Wouldn't work here again and i don't recommend it to anyone. Forget the prestige. It's not worth it.

2.0
Mar 13, 2018

Lack of leadership and career development

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

They pay you well. The Benefits are good. If you drink the cool aid, you're golden.

Cons

- Leadership is earned by seniority aka. whoever put up with this bs the longest, therefore managers or directors aren't necessarily suitable for the leadership position. - There is no career development. Leadership doesn't care about any of that. They only care for face time. - Politics are everything. If you're in a position where Rockstar North has less skill, but a much bigger ego, you're the loser. - Toxic masculinity everywhere. Women's opinions aren't acknowledged and always taken with lesser priority than the male counterparts. - You either drink the cool aid, hard, or you're going to have a hard time. - There's no company culture. Departments don't intermingle. - The company made billions of dollars through SharkCards last year, but they keep telling us that there is no money for a Christmas party, or for bigger bonuses.

2.0
Dec 11, 2015

Makes for good Résumé material if nothing else

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great Co-Workers- It was an office full of like-minded gamers that all got along swell, assuming you were on the same general level career wise. Name Recognition- Saying you work/worked at Rockstar Games was sure to make someone's eyes light up. The Work- The job was different than anything I had ever done and I really enjoyed it, despite the overall shortcomings of the studio and how it was managed.

Cons

The Hours- Brutal and unforgiving. 6-7 days a week, 9-14 hours a day depending on your deadlines or which upper changed their minds at the last minute and called for a redo on your project, causing your entire team to stay long hours (sometimes overnight) to meet your already tight deadline. The Upper Management- Not the greatest of dudes running that place. Never felt a decent connection to anyone above my immediate supervisor while I worked there. The Culture- There was a severe lack of work-to-life balance in the studio, particularly for those lower on the ladder. Rockstar Games does not value your family life, your personal time, or anything about you or your life that lies beyond their doors. They may ask about particular parts of your life, but it is usually to get a feel for whether or not you may be considering leaving/quitting.

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Glassdoor has 744 Rockstar Games reviews submitted anonymously by Rockstar Games employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Rockstar Games is right for you.