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Build a Rocket Boy

Is this your company?

The Worst I have ever seen, it s a career killer to work here. Stay away. - Team Leader Build a Rocket Boy Employee Review

1.0
23 Jan 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

As there always are, there are some good people in the ranks at the studio. The pay is in line with industry.

Cons

This place is an absolute disaster. The executive leadership is a revolving door. Top leaders get replaced constantly, and somehow, each new one is worse than the last. The people running the studio care more about stroking their own egos than actually making good games. If you can suck up and make them feel important, you will go far. If you care about quality, actually developing a good game, or working in a functional environment, you are completely out of luck. The production structure is completely broken. The games are boring to play at best and an absolute nightmare to work on. Why? Because the CEO, who has no idea what they are doing, micromanages everything into oblivion. It is like watching someone set fire to their own house and then complain about how hot the fire is. And let’s talk about the layoffs. Every quarter, people just vanish. No announcements, no explanations. One day they are there, the next they are gone. If you are wondering if you will be next, you probably will be. As for the C-suite, I do not even have words. They are spineless yes-people who exist to nod along while the studio burns or worse add to the flames. If you are looking for a stable job, decent leadership, or a place that values creativity, run. Run fast and far away. This place can very easily break your career. And if you think this is just a rant from a disgruntled employee, consider this. Look at the scores. Read the comments. Then realize that this studio has been working on these games for eight years and still has not launched a single one. Do not be fooled by the strangely happy reviews the leadership is planting on Glassdoor.

Explore other reviews about Build a Rocket Boy

1.0
21 Jan 2024
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

A stepping stone into the industry. BARB is an opportunity to start in video gaming, collect experience, and move on.

Cons

Political Drama, drama, drama. There have been multiple changes of studio leadership, countless times of department restructures, individuals are in one day and then disappear under 'mutual agreements' to never return. Psychological safety is at an all-time low, due to entire departments getting caught up in the political blast-zone between the constant power struggle of leadership. Culture war. BARB cannot define its culture, because leadership constantly breaks culture definitions. What are the cornerstones of BARB? Bullying. The definition is: To not be given credit, being set up for failure, constant undermining. It's all rife in BARB and if the leaders do this, it trickles down into management, departments, and projects. Keeping up with the misinformation is hard. Knowing who knows what can, and cannot be discussed is a minefield. There is studio facing 'information', the reality, and 'leadership facing truth'. With little to no communication in the studio, staff do not believe what information they are given, as it will likely change in a week or less. CRUNCH. This is a studio in full crunch for months, veiling as "focus time/bug-bash!/do your damn job". You do not get overtime, as you are salaried (on a very low salary for industry). You will struggle to take holiday, this is due to the constant crunch. Little to no notice is given for changing timelines, be prepared to cancel your approved holiday because leadership cannot plan ahead more than 5 days in advance. There are some great and very talented people working at BARB but leadership does not take people's professional (previous or current) experience into account. Most of the time you are just doing what you are told and you best do it quietly.

42
1.0
4 Mar 2025
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

There is nothing positive here

Cons

The most toxic unethical senior leaders I've ever encountered

28
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