Wargaming reviews

I'm definitely biased in my opinion, considering the position I'm in, but I've never been happier at a game studio than I am today at Wargaming Chicago-Baltimore. Why? Well: - Flexible hours with a strong emphasis on work-life balance - most people work very reasonable hours most of the time, and we purposely schedule in such a way as to avoid crunch. It only ever happens if something's gone really wrong (for example, a bunch of key people all out sick at the same time). But it's never assumed or scheduled. Plus, a lot of positions (not all) have some ability to work from home when someone needs to wait for a delivery or stay home with a sick kid, and our hours are fairly flexible. - Benefits and Perks - best-of-class maternity and paternity leave, great PTO and holidays calendar, 401K matching, medical/dental/vision/life/etc, all top notch. - Friendly people, always ready to give advice or just chat - Casual workplace - it's a game company, of course we're in shorts and t-shirts :) - Light on bureaucracy - we purposely try to stay very light on paperwork, avoid lots of email spam about stuff nobody cares about, keep things digital (paperless), and try to limit 'meeting hell' compared to anywhere else I've worked. Successful - the most important, we've been successful for years, have our sights set on an even bigger future for the studio and the company, and we try hard to make sure that success translates into continually improving our employee's experience and growth here at Wargaming. - Cutting-edge business model - all of our larger projects are free-to-play and free-to-win, which allows for the greatest possible number of players and a great experience for multiplayer (lots of potential opponents and clanmates, lots of chances to make new friends, good matchmaking, etc.). - Tools to succeed - we have modern facilities, modern equipment, great BI / analytics, and our teams don't lack for anything they need to get the job done.

As some other reviews have mentioned, there are many things that put Wargaming Chicago-Baltimore apart from other game dev shops. First, the lack of crunch. Sure, when bugs crop up or big features are slipping behind as a code lockdown approaches, there are folks who have to stay late. But the whole, "we're approaching ship date—we need you guys to come in for 10 hour days and work through the weekend" thing just doesn't happen here. Perhaps an even more important positive facet of WGCB is how stable the employment is. The games industry is incredibly volatile (I've been part of multiple full teams laid off due to poor budgeting/planning at other studios), but Wargaming strives to keep people employed. It's very nice to work at a place that doesn't treat people as a disposable means to the end of shipping a game. One final great thing about working here is the potential for personal career growth and mobility. I've worked my way up through multiple positions at the company, and each step of the way have had a great manager in whom to share my career aspirations. If you're willing to put in the work and make your career goals known to management (and be patient but politely persistent), there's a good chance opportunities will open up for you.