Niantic reviews

3.7

69% would recommend to a friend

(228 total reviews)
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John Hanke

67% approve of CEO

42% positive business outlook

Niantic has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 228 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Niantic employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Mídia e comunicação industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

228 reviews
5.0
Apr 12, 2018
Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

- The people I work with are one of the biggest highlights of working at Niantic. Everyone here is very motivated, willing to help out one another, and deeply cares about the success of not only themselves, but of their team and the greater company. It seems like almost all Niantics are willing to jump in to help when needed, even if it means an occasional late night or weekend. - I've been able to grow with the company and I genuinely feel like my manager, my teammates, and the CEO really care about my personal growth and well-being. I've been able to take on projects and have had opportunities at Niantic that I would have had anywhere else. - Our benefits and perks are top-tier. There's a real effort made by our People team to ensure we have competitive benefits.

Cons

As a growing company, there are some policies and infrastructure we still need to improve/implement to accommodate the increase in headcount.

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Niantic Response
8y
Agreed all around - thank you for sharing!
4.0
Apr 11, 2018
Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

- This company's products make a very real difference in people's lives. We get letters from autistic people who've finally found a way to make friends, parents who've reconnected with their kids by playing together, couples who met each other through the game and are married now, & kids with cancer who have a reason to smile because of Pokemon Go. The level of impact these games have is so uplifting, and I'm filled with joy every time I see a stranger playing a Niantic game on the street. - Everyone who works at this company is smart, kind, passionate, and interesting. Lunch table discussions are always fun, and I have never felt out of place here, which is something I've felt at a lot of other places. - I love how a lot of employees play Niantic games. Many people here are high level Ingress and Pokemon Go players, and play regularly in their personal lives. It's an important way to get direct feedback about the gameplay experience, and I love that people in the office will sometimes go on impromptu raids or farms. It really helps me feel like I'm part of a team here. - Niantic is supportive of mental health, both among players and employees. We have ERGs like the Women group and the LGBTQ group, and the team is pretty diverse, by comparison to other companies. I've found it easy to talk about going to the therapist, or taking a mental health day, which can be somewhat taboo in other places.

Cons

- Game development is hard. It's a competitive space, and Niantic is trailblazing to carve out a brand new genre of game. It's difficult to design fun, and it can feel like management gets in the way. - There is a strong sense of pressure that comes from having hundreds of millions of eyes on your product. To say Pokemon Go is a popular game would be the understatement of the century, and that popularity comes with a lot of perceived responsibility, especially as all eyes are going to be on the Harry Potter game when that launches. Since teams are small, it can feel like you are personally responsible for the success or failure of big things. If you are prone to feel like you need to do everything yourself, or have a savior complex, it can be a big trap to watch out for. - Everyone is overworked and it feels like we are always behind schedule. The game dev industry is infamous for Crunch, and Niantic is not immune. I have found the work life balance to be OK, but just OK, and I imagine it's far worse in the months leading up to the launch of a new game. - Niantic's external communication is often very disappointing. There are times where things need to be communicated to players, like during live events or outages, but the execs put a gag order out and no one is allowed to breathe a word. I know there is legal liability for some things, and I know we want to err on the side of not saying something we regret, but come on. We owe our players better than radio silence.

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Niantic Response
8y
I think your advice to management is spot on and really appreciative of this entire post. Very well written. Thank you for taking the time to share this
5.0
Apr 10, 2018
Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

- Mission and Company Culture - Work on cool products that have and will continue to change the world - Flatter organization structure means that you can have an impact at the company no matter your role or experience level - Experienced Leadership - Career development trajectory is important to employer

Cons

- There’s a lot of work, this means that many people work long hours and sometimes weekends - No other major cons that I can think of

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Niantic Response
8y
Thank you!
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Glassdoor has 266 Niantic reviews submitted anonymously by Niantic employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Niantic is right for you.