Old-boys network rife with egos, politics & scapegoating
Pros
-People are generally high-caliber, professional, and passionate about making games -Employees are provided with resources that enable you to make quality games. (Sometimes this comes in the form of hiring dozens of contractors in a short period of time to meet overly aggressive schedules) -Nice benefits such as the excellent gym and library (free videogames), plus Starbucks onsite in Redwood Shores -EA University provides valuable training programs that anyone can sign up for (Manager-approved, of course) -Some parts of the overall organization truly value camraderie, collaboration, and open communication
Cons
-Sad to say, but much of the Studio decision-making is awful. Legacy organizations such as EA Redwood Shores (now Visceral) are full of bitter veterans with huge egos constantly engaged in petty political battles among entrenched incumbents and others jockeying for power. See formation of Sledgehammer Games. Game team senior management does not think of what's best for their reports, the team, or even EA, but primarily on what will advance their career. -Zero accountability from almost all Senior Directors, Studio execs, and above -- they blame everyone else and never assume responsibility for their actions. Instead they find scapegoats, pin the problem on them, and discard them like trash. There's been tens of Millions wasted on killed projects (and subsequent layoffs) within the past 5 years, and no Exec has ever been held accountable for it. -It's a matter of due process that once you make it in the political good graces of a "Godfather," you "fail" into an executive promotion, typically at the expense of dozens of frontline employees during layoffs caused by aforementioned poor decisions. -Despite the notion of EA Values, the Work-Life balance remains unhealthy and dysfunctional especially during crunch times. While this is nothing new in the game industry, it culminated in the EA Spouse settlement and is still rampant to a large degree for exempt employees. EA also killed the Sabbatical program and didn't provide grandfathering for rehires. How's that for Values? -From a comp standpoint, there is enormous inequity in base salary depending on circumstance (e.g., the hiring need was immediate so cash was thrown at underqualified candidates with less experience and potential than existing employees who earn significantly less). Moreover, EA employees are underpaid (in the Bay Area) but are only given more compensation (beyond the annual 3% raise) when they threaten to leave. HR is part of the problem. -The political culture is stifling. If it serves the needs of those in power, then you're a rockstar and your ideas are golden. One "EA Employee of the Year" was awarded even before he shipped the game he was working on. Everyone was like, "huh??" This breeds further politics and reinforcement of dysfunctional behavior. If you don't want to play that game, then you just have to shut up and do your job. If you rock the boat, you're thrown out.
