Pros
- Fun work atmosphere with free drinks and fresh fruit - Cool people to hang out with and talk about stuff unrelated work - Not much micromanagement (but probably depends on the manager/department) - Long lunches - You won't get fired unless you epically screw up
Cons
- Other development studios have referred to Ubi as "Ubi School" because Ubisoft pays so little, they frequently hire fresh grads. Once those guys gain some experience, they're off to another company that is willing to pay more. - All the really good people (valuable, passionate, dedicated contributors) leave because of the following reasons: - Ubisoft doesn't pay what people are worth. - Ubisoft creates new job titles instead of using something standard in the industry so they can avoid paying the competitive industry rate for that role. (so I heard) - When I joined, there were three levels between me and the VP of the department. When I left, there were six levels (three new ones were created). - It is good practice to have your employees interview a potential new manager. Ubisoft doesn't do this. You end up with a bad fit for the team/department. - Ubisoft doesn't fire people when they really need to be fired (i.e. leaving their team with chaos, to spend company funds for a conference they have no reason to be attending, taking time off when a project is about to fail, blaming failures on others, etc.) --> I suppose this is a "pro" for lazy people who just want an income. - Nepotism. The CEO's wife's friend who was a nurse many years ago became the managing director of one of the company's studios. (so I heard) And so many more examples. Just being French or a French speaker is in your favor. - When people have been around awhile, they start to get lazy (or maybe they started out that way and never got fired), and they are unresponsive and unhelpful. This is a worldwide problem, not specific to any one studio. - Many departments are overloaded with work. So if you are working on a non-AAA title, don't expect marketing or creative services or whoever else to look at your project until it's too late. - Management expects miracles. Here's $5 and 10 minutes, give me a five-course meal.