Fortune magazine has created a list of the 100 best companies to work for. Activision Blizzard and Riot Games, the companies behind World of Warcraft and League of Legends, made the list. Both companies are fully invested in gaming, even in the workplace.
Forbes magazine is known for its list of the richest people in the world; this year, Valve icon Gabe Newell and Minecraft guru Markus “Notch” Persson made it into that list. The competing Fortune magazine releases a list of the “Best Companies to work for,” the preferred workplaces. This refers to surveys conducted by “Great Rated” with the companies, and when looking at how high the scores are at Riot and Blizzard, one can imagine how high the bar is that must be cleared to be included in this top 100. These are all dream jobs at dream companies.
Typically, software companies have a hard time: because after a project is completed, a lot of firings happen. Employees do not stay long. The sword of Damocles of layoffs hangs over their heads. When a project ends, only a skeleton crew is needed to lay the groundwork for the next big game. The now “redundant” employees were fired in the business between projects for years, and this practice continues today. Not a great atmosphere to feel comfortable.
Therefore, two software studios made the list, whose business is not necessarily the development of games but rather their continued development and constant maintenance.
Activision Blizzard: Gaming is part of the company culture
Activision Blizzard is the company behind Hearthstone, Diablo, and World of Warcraft. As a publisher, they also release works from other studios like Destiny, Skylanders, or Call of Duty.
Over 11,000 people work for the industry giant. So it’s certainly more than just the “development studio Blizzard,” as they also have a unique company culture with swords and shields and such. More than 1000 employees filled out a questionnaire to rate the company. They made it to 93rd place in the top 100.
Employees particularly enjoy that they are given a lot of responsibility and get to work on video games for which they are passionate.
In daily life, one doesn’t forget that they make games. There are “gaming zones,” it’s okay to dress a bit more casually, and one can even bring their dog to work. The atmosphere is relaxed, although everyone works seriously and hard on their respective projects.
The majority of employees have been with Activision for a relatively long time. 38% between 2 and 5 years, 28% between 6 and 10. For a gaming company, this is unusual. 50% of the surveyed employees are between 26 and 34. 55% are older, with very few seniors. It likely helps the statistics that it’s not just a “software studio” but also a publisher.
Riot Games: Gaming is the company culture
Riot Games is not as much of an industry giant as Activision. They have 1400 employees and only one topic: “League of Legends.” Everyone there plays it, works on it, breathes and thinks about it, according to the more than 500 survey responses that were analyzed.
The ranking reflects how great it must be to work at Riot. They achieved 13th place. That is truly an absolute top place, even before Twitter (24) and the world leaders of Goldman Sachs (50). For those wondering who is in first place: Google.
At Riot, there is an incredible identification with the company and with the MOBA League of Legends. Players are truly seen as players and not as customers, as it is said. And since the employees at Riot consider themselves players, they feel connected.
The corporate culture is open: employees can also approach their supervisors directly with personal problems and adjust their schedules. In the event of a death in the family, employees are given as much time as they need. Overall, it seems to be easy at Riot to take a few days off if they feel they need them.
Riot is significantly younger compared to Activision. 73% of employees are younger than 34 years. 60% of the 500 surveyed have only been there for two years. 40% are between two and five years. Clearly: Riot is also a much younger company compared to Activision.
