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      Blackbird Interactive

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      Blackbird Interactive Reviews

      3.6

      77% would recommend to a friend

      (53 total reviews)

      Rob Cunningham

      62% approve of CEO

      27% positive business outlook

      Ratings by category

      4.0

      Work/Life balance

      3.9

      Culture and values

      3.9

      Diversity and inclusion

      3.3

      Compensation and benefits

      3.2

      Senior management

      3.1

      Career opportunities

      Blackbird Interactive has an employee rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 53 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Blackbird Interactive employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Media and communication industry (3.7 stars).

      Reviews by job title

      53 reviews
      2.0
      19 May 2016

      Rare Opportunity Squandered by Poor Leadership

      Programmer
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business outlook

      Pros

      Excellent IP to work on (Homeworld series), good office location (on Great Northern Way, walking distance to Main st.), some sense of comradery, reasonable suite of dev tools (Unity, git), good opportunity for young and talented people to break into the games industry in Vancouver.

      Cons

      Authoritarian work culture that treats individuals with no respect, widespread bullying, disgruntled employees, high turn-over, and an emphasis on art production to the exclusion of other disciplines such as game design and tech. Will not look good on your resume since so many recent grads from tech colleges in Vancouver have filtered through this company either as interns or on short contracts, not to mention that this studio is incapable of shipping a successful project.

      1.0
      14 May 2022

      I used to have hope, but... Never again

      Environment artist
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business outlook

      Pros

      4 day work week, even if it's just a bandaid to cover up systemic issues. Willingness to improve D&I, though it sometimes feels performative. Well-known, interesting IPs in the RTS genre. Some of the best talent in the industry today, and are willing to help bring talent from overseas as well. They help pay for courses as well, though getting it approved can be tricky. It's a good experience to get your foot in the door. Get in, stay for a year or so, then get out.

      Cons

      Rapid growth required a change in how management and leadership operate, which hasn't happened or been acknowledged yet. Consistent diva problem in the Art department, and if you cross them you get fired. Most projects are understaffed and very badly managed. BBI has by far the worst producers I've ever worked with. Leadership lacks experience and will to make hard decisions, which trickles down into dev overwork and crunch. 4 day work week made this worse. Leadership does not listen to devs, flat out. No room for career advancement unless you are willing to do several people's jobs and have no personal life. Bro/stoner culture is strong with higher-ups and if you're not part of that culture you stand out. Art/Design/Tech was consistently off-kilter on the project I was in, which led to avoidable work and confusion. Leadership purposely lies to devs about the roadmap and state of the project, causing distrust over time as failed milestones keep piling up. Chronic cases of people being promised raises/positions and that never coming to fruition, as well as people giving notice and being fired right after.

      5.0
      6 Jul 2016

      Excellent workplace with a deeply promising future

      Senior designer
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business outlook

      Pros

      Working with impassioned and diversely talented people to create quality products. Despite the many demands of an aggressive schedule taking Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak through beta and to ship, work life balance never fell by the wayside. As one of two working parents for a kindergartner, drop everything situations and emergencies happen, as do unexpected nanny cancellations and other circumstances. Blackbird always allowed me to put family first, and accommodated through measures like flexible hours, and the ability to work from home. Through my year with BBI, I had opportunity to work with very immensely talented folks, both inside and outside of my job title. I learned a lot about production and process and always felt I had ample opportunity to pitch in where ever something needed doing, politics free. I left feeling a deep and lasting affection for the place, and I'm very glad for my time there. I hope our paths will cross again with future projects up the road.

      Cons

      If looking for a big corporate tower to hide away in, anonymous and pigeon-holed, this might not be the right fit for you. Personally, I loved the start up feel to the place, streamlined, intimate, and individually accountable. A place where the challenges were bold, and where an individual's commitment to getting a quality job done spoke volumes towards the measure of their character.

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      ReviewsBlackbird Interactive reviews

      Glassdoor has 64 Blackbird Interactive reviews submitted anonymously by Blackbird Interactive employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Blackbird Interactive is right for you.