Growing up as an asian kid in the suburbs, I was first exposed to video games at an early age.
Though I can’t remember the first game I ever played, I clearly remember seeing the NES system under our tree one year, and subsequently spent countless hours guiding the pixelated plumber through a virtual 8 bit world.
Fast forward today, and I’ve somehow landed a product manager role inside a large game company, where I’ve spent the last 4 months onboarding virtually due to covid19 and shelter in place. Honestly I wasn’t sure if I wanted to make the switch from tech to gaming so abruptly but a misfit with my previous manager along with a great offer from EA made it hard to turn down.
So what’s it really like to work for a gaming company?
Is it all that it’s cracked up to be?
Everyone’s experience is going to be different and YMMV, but I’ve spent a good number of months both in the office and WFH to give you guys an idea of what it’s like. I’ve also explored the benefits and perks, though I have yet to take advantage of most of them.
Yes, you get some nice perks
Coming from Google, it’s hard to compare other companies to the swath of free lunches and swag that the search company lavishes on it’s employees. Still, EA (though I assume most gaming companies as well) treats their employees with free game credits, discounted games, branded swag/apparel, along with a host of other treats such as early access to beta launches to upcoming titles. Specifically for our company, we’ve also got a full size basketball court, amazing fitness facility (can’t wait to use this when we get back to the office), and nap pods across campus.
Food isn’t free, it’s actually a bit pricey (though they say it’s subsidized), but at least it’s good quality. Healthcare is pretty decent, but then again my benchmark is Google, which has several wellness centers across their hub offices with full time doctors, nurses, optometrists, physical therapists, etc on site for employees to use, so it’s hard to beat that. And don’t forget about shuttle services to avoid sitting in traffic for hours on end.
Overall, I’m satisfied with the 50% 401k matching and other perks — they weren’t the primary reason why I joined, nor will they be the reason if I decide to stay.
Pay is good, not great
It’s hard to beat the pay that most tech companies offer, especially if you’re fortunate enough to work at one of the FAANGs. Gaming is also one of those coveted industries where demand for jobs far outweighs supply, which gives companies more leverage to pay below market. Nonetheless, there are ways that you can increase your total comp and negotiate for what you think is right.
Keep in mind I’m speaking from the perspective of a product manager — there may be hard to find engineering or designer roles which are critical for game development that can command premium compensation, however from experience and research, most business or operational roles will likely see a 5–15% adjustment from a comparable role in tech.
One of the ways to get the best possible offer (hmm maybe this should be its own post one day) is to make sure that you have competing offers (if not you can use your existing comp as a benchmark); this will help your recruiter sell it to the hiring/compensation committee and fight to make you an offer that is acceptable. Another method is to also do your research and figure out what the market rate is (at least for base), and use that information to establish a benchmark against the role that you’re targeting; Paysa, Glassdoor, LinkedIn, even Blind are all good resources for this exercise. Once you’ve figured this out and have gotten the offer, most firms will be willing to flex a little on base, maybe even RSUs and the sign on bonus, depending on how you negotiate and the strength of your BATNA.
Strong culture (at least at EA)
Electronic Arts has been around since 1982 — they’ve been around for a bit. From my first day orientation, I learned that the company has evolved over time with different leaders injecting their own flavor of culture as they came and went. From what I can tell, our current CEO Andrew Wilson is a capable leader who isn’t afraid to be transparent and take on socially relevant issues such as racial injustice while making everyone feel like they are all part of one giant EA family. More importantly though, the company seems to really value the player experience, and is working towards establishing itself as one of the premier gaming companies in the industry.
Most successful game companies will either focus on the players or making the best game possible — I think EA tries to do both, though it’s not always executed as planned. Nevertheless, this mission is emphasized top down, ensuring that everyone is aligned on why we exist as an organization. This means that everything we do goes back to whether it enhances the player experience and how to improve their engagement with our content.
The culture empowers employees to be creative and flexible. In reality we know we’re not trying to find a vaccine for covid19 or end racial injustice — so we don’t take things too seriously. People work hard, but they play hard too, and there’s a real sense of camaraderie and collaboration between teams. With the way that software development works now, the company is embracing new technologies to develop higher fidelity games with quicker release cycles and more responsive engagement with the community when things don’t go as expected. Game studios also seem to be given considerable creative freedoms to innovate, even with established titles such as Madden and FIFA.
Not everyone is passionate about gaming
You might think that everyone who works for a gaming company must have grown up memorizing the Konami code (bonus points if you know what I’m talking about), but that’s just not the case. It also depends on the team that you work in, but in my case, most of my teammates and business partners either play games casually or not at all. Many are married with kids, so they either don’t have the time or have other interests outside of gaming.
Does having gaming experience as a player or industry professional help when you interview for a job? Sure, but it depends on the job. If you’re aiming for a role on a studio team to help develop the next AAA title, you’ll need to demonstrate passion and subject matter expertise, but some roles like mine (PM for revenue models/subscriptions) require more specific expertise in finance and accounting, which is what I studied during undergrad.
The industry thrives during times of economic uncertainty
There are at least two sectors that generally thrive during times of uncertainty — household essentials, and of course, affordable entertainment. With people sheltering in place, gaming is one of the bright spots during this pandemic and EA is no different. Over the past few months, we’ve seen increased loads on online servers, growth in the number of subscribers, and increase in sales. I feel fortunate to have joined during this time, especially as we’ve seen massive contractions in the economy due to the corona virus and the impact it has on businesses that rely on social interactions.
Will working in the gaming industry continue to have a bright future? Who knows. The competition is fierce and both the quality and quantity of games continues to force players to make decisions on where to spend their precious time.
One thing is for sure — I can say that playing games and engaging with the community to better understand and execute our company strategy is part of the role.
Now let me get back to leveling up my MP7, it’s double XP weekend.