Daybreak Game Company Reviews

Pros

The people who have remained at the company year over year are great and experts in MMOs. Everyone puts so much energy into keeping things positive until there are some real positive changes within the company. Most people really care about the fans that support their titles and want to do right by them and their dedications to the titles.

Cons

After the layoffs over the last several years, many departments have been running extremely lean to the point where it's unsustainable. Lots of favoritism and a culture of fear and yes-people at the top of the org. If you aren't one of the CEOs favorites, good luck getting anything done that actually costs money. The only thing that drives the decision making is money, not ideas or innovation or making things fun. There is no care for the people that put their hearts and souls into the company and it's heartbreaking to witness.

Pros

A lot of creative freedom and management places a lot of trust in your work. Snacks and beverages always provided. Very little to no crunch. Great team environment.

Cons

2-3 layoffs in one year can leave anyone on edge in general.

Pros

LGBT friendly Clean offices Convenient location Generous holiday schedule

Cons

Daybreak is run like a mafia. Employees are ordered to spy on others who are suspected of being disloyal. Management issued stern warnings that those who are reported for negativity, even when off campus, can be terminated. Work environment is hostile. Employees are pitted against each other. Teams are pitted against each other. HR cannot be trusted. They are used as a tool to manipulate and threaten staff. Management is demonstrably incompetent. Insists on changes to projects that are often unfeasible and sometimes impossible and always out of touch with the project. Upper management are bullies. Leads are undermined, retaliated against, and replaced if they do not follow marching orders. Zero accountability at the top. Decisions made by management result in the loss of millions of dollars. Yet management proudly shows off their new luxury cars and new houses, in the wake of layoffs and ever-dwindling profit sharing bonuses. Company brings in premium hires to run existing teams. These types invariably undermine the game's experts and sink team morale as they ram through uninformed decisions. Buildings are half-empty. Three large layoffs in the past 15 months. Staff fired for minor infractions. Good people have left or are leaving for more stability and less hostility. Daybreak is struggling to bring on and keep quality staff. Management asked employees to write positive reviews to offset the negative ones. Company is in the midst of a re-branding to shed their bad industry reputation, while keeping the same people and policies that led to this reputation. Owners are desperately trying to sell company while simultaneously running it into the ground.

Pros

Free snacks, coffee, and benefits

Cons

Working environment, terrible pay, lack of communication from the upper echelons

Pros

Great and loving people to work with, and just all around fun to be around.

Cons

Management really force our hands on things, and being most of the things they force our hands on were fighting what the fun base wanted out game to be... (Just Survive) Plus I was working on JS, then I was moved to H1Z1/KOTK , and it was not so bad... then they sold it NantG, so I was moved to their team/company to work on it still, that being said NantG gave the game back DBGC, and I was out of the job... because of it.

Pros

Good work life balance, overtime is unusual on the game team I'm on. Visible expectations of what is necessary to be promoted. My supervisor is very good at helping accomplish yearly goals and skill growth. Very pleased with management on this team. I do not know very much about the other teams here. As a whole the company is LGBT friendly, and has an above average ratio of female employees (also in management). Expectations about work are clear and I don't feel pressured about when/how I finish my work (opposite of being micromanaged). I also can get help easily without irritation from coworkers, and lots of patience. I am surprised by the amount at which my opinion is valued even though I am surrounded by a lot of very experienced, knowledgeable people. We have some fun but generally everyone is there to get work done and doesn't mess around. It feels like a casual work environment, but is not casual in it's professionalism.

Cons

I think a lot of the negative reviews here are honest for whomever wrote them and probably fair. I think part of the problem is the reality of running a business and the game industry. If a company is failing to release successful games over an extended time period (it is very competitive) they will not be able to give good bonuses and they will have to have layoffs, which is true for Daybreak and makes employees unhappy. I am optimistic for the future. Depending on where you look, this company offers very stable positions in a notoriously unstable industry.