Game News “Never been paid so little in a big box”: underpaid Blizzard employees?
In the wake of the SB1162 law which entered into force in California yesterday concerning the transparency imposed on video game studios, certain individuals in the industry did not hesitate to share their experience with some of these companies such as Activision-Blizzard or Riot .
Summary
- A wage law that loosens tongues
- “Seeing Blizzard’s levels so low is always shocking…”
A wage law that loosens tongues
Who says new year says changes. Video game studios located in California (United States) can testify to this since since January 1, they must communicate the salaries on the job offers they offer. A measure that they decided to circumvent (according to journalist Jason Schreier) by offering huge price ranges. Depending on the positions, the difference may be between $80,000 and $110,000 per year. Something justified by companies by the different variants of an applicant: experience, type of work…
Salaries that may seem high. Nevertheless, it should be kept in mind that this does not specifically indicate purchasing power: it is therefore difficult to compare such figures with those observed in France, especially since American studios do not hesitate to lengthen checkbooks to attract veterans. Moreover, some posted salaries seem far from reality. Indeed, this mandatory “transparency” has loosened the tongues of some people who have worked in the industry.
“Seeing Blizzard’s levels so low is always shocking…”
This is for example the case of Kevin O’Brien (@Koalifier on Twitter). Today at Theorycraft Games (subcontracting studio having helped on games like Overwatch or League of Legends), he explains that he was QA (for Quality Assurance, a kind of tester and bug finder) at Riot Games for Valorant . He explains that the salaries shown correspond more or less to reality:
Taking “Test Lead” as an example since all 3 are up (QA Eng II is Riot’s “test lead” equivalent, from the experience requirements and my own recollection).
Riot – $98,009 hourly (so there’s also OT)
Bungie – $86,000 salary
Blizz – $49,600 salary…bruh
— Kevin O’Brien (@Koalifier) January 2, 2023
Blizz, you have to pay for your quality assurance . Looks like among those three is: Riot -> Bungie -> Blizz
In order of most to least paid. This lines up with what I’ve heard over the years talking to people, but seeing Blizzard’s levels so low is still shocking…
Let’s take the example of “Test Lead” since all 3 are in place (QA Eng II is the equivalent of “Test Lead” at Riot, based on experience requirements and my own recollection).
- Riot – $98,009 per hour (so there’s overtime too)
- Bungie – $86,000 salary
- Blizz – $49,600 salary…
Something pointed out by @ArtThouBored on Twitter. He confirms the payments mentioned, indicating that they were not “not even wages” they received. He adds that the only way to have enough to live on was to abuse overtime. It is also @AaronBurrSir7 who points out similar treatment. Today at Electronic Arts, he explains that his salary was multiplied by 2.6 when he left the company:
when I left Blizzard QA to become a QA contractor in the bay area, my wage increased 2.6x.
I was suddenly making more than producers and probably some junior devs at Blizz at the time.
worst pay of any major company ive worked at.
— AaronBurrSir? (@AaronBurrSir7) January 3, 2023
When I left Blizzard’s QA department to become a QA contractor in the Bay Area, my salary increased 2.6x. I was suddenly earning more than the producers and probably some of the junior developers at Blizzard at the time. Never been paid so little in a big box.
In any case, Blizzard seems to display a salary very far from its competitors (in California at least) for the position of QA Manager. Nevertheless, this allows to display a trend of what is done in the middle for the big video game studios. A transparency that will perhaps force Blizzard to force things?
