Pros
A joyful culture exists among colleagues fighting in the same trench. This place is a good starting point for your career, but otherwise, it should be avoided at all costs.
Cons
- Larian routinely hires toxic leads and directors without conducting any background checks. At one point, the game (BG3) allowed players to knock out characters and steal their underwear. A high-ranking individual lauded this feature. When the decision was made to remove it, this person was genuinely baffled, asking, "What's so bad about it?" This person is a manager. Let that reflect on the type of people this company hires for high-ranking positions and who they reject any notion of discharge.
-The public persona is nothing more than a façade. The company you see on live streams is not as jovial or fair as it appears. Nepotism is a huge problem in this company. In a company-wide meeting, Swen declared with conviction, "This is the time we finalize the game (BG3); no more modifications or additions." However, this commitment was inconsistent with his subsequent actions. He would make changes based on a whim, which would inevitably result in delays for other tasks in the pipeline. Subsequently, overtime was authorized to compensate for these delays, further highlighting the capricious decision-making process. This is called "The Larian-way!" It is the idea that everything can be iterated on ad nauseam. I do agree that if an idea is not good, it should be iterated on, but pushing hard into data and content lock to the point of tears is abuse. They justify it by pointing to feedback from a single playtester, a Reddit post, or an increase of a Metacritic point. The bizarreness to this is that there is competition among the directors and leads to see who can exert the most influence over Swen. In various meetings, different directors have boasted about their ability to sway Swen's decisions. They announce this proudly during syncs, seemingly oblivious to how unprofessional and immature it sounds. However, it raises suspicions when they seemingly lose control over him in critical moments, such as when he mandates further iterations despite an impending data lock. This is the company culture.
-This company likes to pretend it is AAA-tier while it isn't. They demand work as if they are a AAA company but compensate like an indie studio.
-The company's tools are woefully inadequate, and the resource management system is laughable at best. We suffer from multiple red builds (broken builds) daily, resulting in significant delays as the data update via Perforce has made prior builds obsolete.
-Certain producers are clueless. They fail to understand the difference between a senior and a junior employee. I've witnessed seniors having to resolve issues created by juniors, problems that could have been avoided had the tasks been assigned to a senior in the first place.
-The company relentlessly pursues a 90+ rating on Metacritic to the point of causing mental exhaustion among its employees. A score below this threshold signals, "We're in trouble." This is despite the fact that glowing reviews do not often translate to sales. While Swen's frank feedback is appreciated, he often simply states, "This isn't good enough." and other none helpful tips. When asked for suggestions on improvement, he expresses frustration, tells you it is "Unacceptable!" and tells you to figure it out on your own. He's also proven to be vocal against anyone who disagrees with him. I've heard him say, "Do it anyway." despite logical protest.
-The company continually hires contractors to address the burgeoning demand for tasks. Unfortunately, these contractors often lack substantial experience, necessitating frequent iterations of simple tasks. This approach proves costly in the long run, especially when high-level tasks are assigned to these contractors, requiring in-house staff to refine the end product. There is a prevailing concern among full-time artists that they may be replaced by contractors on account of Swen's unpredictable and impulsive decisions. While Larian reassures its artists that such an action would contravene EU regulations, the company's history of questionable practices, as documented in other Glassdoor reviews, casts doubt on these assurances. The fact that they reference EU regulations suggests that they have investigated the possibility at some point.
-Employees are prohibited from expressing on social media the inherent difficulties of working on video games or hinting at the strenuous nature of game development. This policy was communicated to all staff via the #gen-general Slack channel. While the current enforcement of this rule is uncertain, it was certainly in effect during the hiring drive for BG3 and is likely to be even more stringent when the company expands to work on multiple games simultaneously.
-If they do not like you, they start denying pay raises, among other things, to get you to leave of your own volition. Keep in mind that their dislike of you can make no sense as it can often be narrowed down to a single feedback about you where they offer no examples to help you improve.
-The CEO and high-level managers all hate remote working. It's a nuisance to their obsession with on-site creative alchemy. They use it as a scapegoat for all problems, refusing to accept that an issue has any other context. This is because they are armed with time, money, support, and resources to tackle things like childcare, school, endless commuting, etc., which many in the company are not equipped with. They are simply inoculated from any consequences due to their privileges. Yet, they simply cannot see the hypocrisy of their ways as they push for the hire of a contractor the majority of the team will never see nor talk to.
from a likely-fired employee on glassdoor
