Cool place to work - Game Designer Striking Distance Studios Employee Review

*Current CEO (Steve) *Flexibility *People

*Krafton management *Not anything against SDS, the general industry is unstable

Early leadership fostered creativity, collaboration, and strong team culture. Some engineers are paid competitively. Benefits were very good at the start (this has since been reduced/changed to very average benefits). Talented team members (though many have since left). The studio still has potential if leadership course-corrects.

Current leadership (under CEO Steve Papoutsis) makes top-down decisions without involving teams. Redundant meetings waste time instead of streamlining work. “Not mandatory” overtime, but heavily implied through the “inappropriate hours” Slack channel where leadership stays online in zoom meetings until the late evening, leaving feedback that feels like it requires immediate response. Severe pay disparities: some engineers earn fair wages, others are grossly underpaid for equal or greater workloads. Layoffs prioritized cutting those who voiced concerns/opinions to leadership or who didn’t put in late-night hours, regardless of talent or contributions. Most of the great leadership and talent left after being overworked and underpaid.