Blizzard Entertainment, not what it used to be
Pros
Blizzard is still a great company with great opportunities, but just not what it was 2 years ago let alone 8 years ago. Having worked at Blizzard for over 10 years I was involved in some of the greatest growth for the company and had an amazing team of individuals I worked with day-to-day to help collaborate and grow the business. Unfortunately, almost every single one of them is now gone. Most leaving with comments referring to being pushed out. You want to work on one of the game teams, as profit sharing is considerably better.
Cons
The culture was amazing but has taken a serious kick the last 3 years. At some point, it became more about how can we do this for cheaper when it comes to employees versus how can we get the best talent to get this done. Basically, all the C-suite is very junior to the gaming industry minus two individuals as all the others left. As you can imagine, this would drive serious change if the new executive level staff does not fully believe in the fundamental tenants of Blizzard. It seems like over the last 3 years Blizzard has hired way to many people, especially in management roles. Some are okay, but most I have worked with are very mediocre at their jobs. Your best bet, get onto one of the game teams. All else is now just seen as basically a cost. Profit sharing is not even remotely close to what it was just 3 years ago. A large number of revenue neutral employees have been hired, causing the profit sharing pool to be spread considerably thinner and thinner every year. Blizzard does not want to pay based on your skills and experience. If you want to work at Blizzard, you should be making less than marke value. Sure you get the occasional freebie (sorry, nowhere near what it used to be), but it just does not make up for all that has been lost. Management works hard to get you to buy in on their kool-aid of how great Blizzard is. It seems like the new norm is to take what you learn at Blizzard and quickly turn it into better compensation elsewhere. No brain drain going on with this situation.