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What's it like to work for Blizzard
lesda Tue, 12/16/2008 - 13:21
There are jobs where you play games all day. And then there are jobs at Blizzard.
At the company, employees are encouraged to play Blizzard games, plus the competition's, and Blizzard provides serious PC hardware to do so.
"It's not frowned upon to play games here. We want to know what's great about the games here and we encourage people to play other games. And we provide systems capable enough to play games," said Paul Sams, Blizzard's chief operating officer.
That's just the start of it.
I spoke ( again) with Blizzard's Sams because his company was ranked as one of the best places to work in Orange County, as voted by employees. He could not stop offering examples of what it's like to work at the company.
Valet parking, free car washes, subsidized meals … and the coolest thing: a full-sized sword on an employee's 5-year anniversary (like the one below, courtesy of a 5-year Blizzard employee). The sword is different every year so it's not like Blizzard had a bunch made and then slap on a name tag each year.
![[]](http://gaming.freedomblogging.com/files/2008/12/blizzard5years.jpg)
If you want to read more about the perks of working at Blizzard and why its employees voted the company as one of the best places to work in Orange County, read the story, " At Blizzard, it's free swag, valet parking and playing games all day." (see below)
Other good morsels that didn't make it into the print version of the story:
I wonder if Blizzard gives out swords to reporters who cover the company after five years?
Published: Dec. 9, 2008
Updated: Oct. 26, 2009 8:31 a.m.
At Blizzard, it's free swag, valet parking and playing games all day
By TAMARA CHUANG
The Orange County Register
Story Highlights
The Irvine game developer not only hires people who love its product, it lavishes them with all sorts of perks.
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If you land a job at Blizzard Entertainment, expect to play games during work. OK, that's not much of a surprise since the Irvine company built "World of Warcraft," one of the biggest computer games in the real world.
But not only do employees - pretty much all gamers - play games at work, they get a few free $15/month Warcraft accounts to share with friends and family. That's just the start of why Blizzard was voted by its employees as one of the best places to work in Orange County.
CINDY YAMANAKA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
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On the 240,000-square-
"We do try to make it an incredible place to work. When you create an environment like that, you'll get the best workers who are motivated and feel they're part of something special," said Paul Sams, Blizzard's chief operating officer.
But wait. There's more.
Through its "/loot" program, box seats at Verizon Amphitheater and Honda Center are awarded to employees each month.
At Halloween, the company buys hundreds of pounds of candy and turns the office into a trick-or-treat haven for the kids. At Christmas, there's a huge holiday party. For the poor folks who do work Thanksgiving or Christmas, Blizzard provides a holiday feast.
And then there's the swag. The company has a ton of licensed products and doles out samples to all employees. Each month, employees get the latest issue of the comic book. If there's an action figure or any new product, everyone gets a copy or at least a generous discount "for a very low price below retail," Sams said.
One of more exclusive items given just to its 3,000 employees is a replica of a 12-foot statue the company commissioned for its courtyard from Weta Workshop, the New Zealand film-effects company that worked on "The Lord of the Rings" movies. The giant bronzed orc riding a wolf will be installed any day now.
Blizzard's games - Diablo, StarCraft and Warcraft - have sold millions. At last count, WoW was played by more than 11 million people. And this was before the latest update, 'World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King,' which went on sale Nov. 13 and sold 2.8 million copies in the first 24 hours.
With 100 openings at any given moment, it's not easy to get a job there. But those who do have one main thing in common: They love playing Blizzard games.
Combine employee love of its product with the wealth that its games have provided, Blizzard must be a magical place to work. Even then, Sams said, the company doesn't take employees for granted. Employees around the globe are surveyed regularly.
"We have focus groups to find out how we're doing. We're constantly doing salary surveys," Sams said. "We want to be able to always look employees in the eye and know that we're doing right by (them)."
Each quarter, Blizzard holds a 'show and tell' at a local movie theater. There, employees get to see all the new Blizzard licensed items, game updates and a movie. Last month, it was "Quantum of Solace."
Service awards are also handed out. But don't expect a lapel pin (who wears that?). At five years, employees get a full-sized sword, unique to the year. At 10 years, they get a shield. At 15 years, they get a $3,000 platinum ring.
"They're actual swords and actual shields. The shields are customized with the Paladin logo from the Warcraft universe," Sams said.
On top of weaponry, employees also get a more, umm, sensible gift: a $100 gift card to South Coast Plaza.
And then there are the wrap parties, as in "That's a wrap" after a new game has launched.
"We take the company to Las Vegas for a couple of days," Sams said. "We basically hire a gigantic caravan of buses. Tons of buses. You and the spouse or significant other hop on the bus. It's an enthusiastic crowd. We typically rent out a good portion of a hotel and usually have a party on one of the nights. And we pay for everyone to go to a show."
Even without many of the generous perks, the company operates in a way that encourages loyalty and fun. Last month, with the launch of the Lich King, Blizzard ordered cases of champagne. Then everyone stood in the courtyard and sprayed each other.
"We do a lot to build a sense of family, camaraderie," Sams said. "We spend a lot of time in our office and we want to make sure that if you can't be with your family, you feel that you're with your extended family."
Contact the writer: tchuang@ocregister.
http://alumni.
Recap of Alum Night @ Blizzard
October 20th, 2008 by Jesse Hsia
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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I've been looking forward to this event for weeks. It finally happened last Thursday night and it certainly did not disappoint, I had a blast! For those of you who missed out on the massive geek-gathering, there's a few things you can do to make sure you don't miss the next. First, join the ICS group on Facebook. Second, write an email to alumni@ics.uci.
Here's a quick run-down on how the event went down:
![[]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2213/2949842132_b6939056a8.jpg?v=0)
Blizzard Entertainment graciously hosted ICS alums for a networking and informational event. The event went from 7-9:30pm and it featured a talk by the founder and CEO of Blizzard, Mike Morhaim. In addition, there were ICS updates from Dean Richardson and faculty. The turnout for the event was phenomenal! This was such a popular event that they had to turn many folks down. Aside from alums, many of the school's faculty were present as well. I think I spotted professor Dan Frost in the crowd. Blizzard employees and game developers stuck around after the presentations and just mingled with the crowd over some great food and drinks. There were some raffle prizes as well. Sure brings back memories of attending info sessions back in the undergrad days.
Networking
For me it was a great night not only because of the free-flowing food, wine and beer, but I just had a great time catching up and meeting new faces. I'm pretty certain I wasn't the only one who felt this way, as the event technically ended around 9:30pm but the crowd did not disperse until well past 10pm! The crowd inside the venue had to be ushered out.
![[]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3293/2949852624_09a70be907.jpg?v=0)
![[]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3034/2948995087_e91e8dfd96.jpg?v=0)
Blizzard Museum
![[]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3199/2949845230_ee85d9d39e.jpg?v=0)
![[]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3201/2949848160_22cfac5c9b.jpg?v=0)
I had found out about the Blizzard Museum during the networking hour so before I called it a night , I along with few other alums decided to stop by. The museum featured what you would have expected: a lot of game memorabilia, original sketches, models, and other artworks of much of Blizzard's most successful games. One of the most memorable displays which I have pictured below is a set of sword and shield:
However what's more interesting is the note which I have a close up here:
So 5 years of working there you get the sword, 10 years you get the shield. How cool is that!?
As we ready to exit the museum, we flipped through the big binder of fan mail that was on display in the museum lobby. We read many heartfelt thank you letters, mostly handwritten, as well as fan drawings from all over the world. The fans appreciation and thanks were felt even as a visitor. I could only imagine the gratification felt from the team who worked on these games.
And that's a wrap. The event was a giant success for everyone involved. Blizzard is a great company to work for creating great products in a great environment with a culture which encourages you to "embrace your inner geek." The alums got together and I enjoyed every minute of it and only wished there was another event I could look forward to already.
Update: Check out the gallery for photos of the event.
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