Pros
- First and foremost, everyone here cares about the games we make. Compromises are not often made, and the details always matter. - Crunch is light to non-existent. When there is crunch, it typically hits the art departments harder than other departments. - Either remote work or on-site work is permitted. Most everyone works from home these days, but still living in the Austin area. - Bluepoint makes it a point to be as lean and nimble as possible while still making AAA games. This gives things more the feel of an indie company, but with many of the perks and security of a big studio. We put more emphasis on doing things right than on doing them fast. This feeds into my next point. - We try to only hire the absolute best, and there is not a lot of fat. This means you're usually working alongside very competent people. However, this can be a con for some people, because if you aren't one of the best in the industry, but you got hired here anyways, you're probably going to struggle. Everyone expects the best out of everyone here, so there is little patience for those that can't keep up, especially if you're under the false impression that you're one of the best. In addition, Bluepoint management is especially intolerant of laziness. If you have a tendency to be lazy, slack off, half-ass things, or be late to things, you will not fit in here. I suspect all of this is the cause of many of the older unfavorable reviews on here, because there is no tolerance whatsoever. But it also means that you can usually count on people to do their jobs and do them well. - There is a mostly flat role hierarchy. This is kind of a pro and a con. It's a pro, because it means there are rarely weird internal power structures at play. Most people are considered to have equal roles, and management has open doors. So, instead of having 8 bosses in a confusing hierarchy, maybe you only have 2. This can be a con though, because it means you have less sway with the people above you, and there is no real path upwards to a more substantial role. This seems like it is mostly an issue within the art department than the other departments, but these things have been slowly improving over the years. - Decent amount of vacation time available. - Regular get-togethers and lots of fun free events and parties.
Cons
- After being bought by Sony, the company has lost some of its original charm, and things are gradually becoming more corporate. There is less of a "family feel," and things are starting to lean towards unnecessarily woke culture. - There is somewhat of a high turnover for contractors at times, but that is pretty standard in the industry, and they have actually been getting better. - Sony could pretty much care less about any of Bluepoint's opinions, and they have been known to have a bit of an unwavering iron fist. This has always been true, including before the takeover, but with them having complete control over Bluepoint now instead of just contractual and negotiable control, they can pretty much do whatever they want now, and they know it. Management used to be champions of the employees that protected us from some of Sony's (and other company's) less savory aspects, but they have now started to side with Sony on anything and everything. - Management tries to be as transparent as possible, which is good, so you aren't totally kept in the dark about things. But they're transparent at their own pace. This means, you'll always eventually hear about everything, but there is a tendency to be blindsided at times, because they may not talk about things until it's too late to make any changes or give any feedback. The transparency on Sony's side is also effectively non-existent. - The president is basically MIA since the Sony takeover. He still shows up to the parties and all, but he used to actually help work on the games.