Politics, Lackeys, and Toxic Environment - Anonymous employee Square Enix Employee Review

2.0
27 Jul 2021
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Lots of prestige in the brand - Ok work-life balance - Fun coworkers - Casual office environment - Cool swag and freebies - Good for entry-level positions, with a brand like 'Square Enix' on your CV you can move to another company with less micromanagement and office politics. - Not the absolute bottom tier gaming place you could work

Cons

- The politics are legendary. Good luck getting to the top unless you have a strong high-level person pushing for you. You can't get your foot in the door unless someone you know or are related to works there - Toxic. Team vs Team sabotage is normal. If Managers or Leaders don't like each other, they will leave out important cross-functional information to sabotage another team. - The Sexism. Good god. Nobody talks about it, but it's there. Both American and Japanese style sexism. - Fail Upwards: if you're good at taking credit for other people's hard work and throwing these hardworking people under the bus, this is the place for you - Favoritism: much like feudal Japan, everything here is about hierarchy and favoritism. It doesn't matter if you suck at your job or if you're good at your job, if you aren't the favorite of someone with power, you'll go nowhere! - Incredibly Outdated but with a super big fragile ego: Square Enix is about 10 years behind and riding high off the fumes of their old titles. Change is an unwelcome subject - Diversity? What diversity?! If you are not Asian, or White then good luck trying to move up. It is incredibly telling that there are almost no BIPOC at this company and even fewer of them in middle management or upper management. - Parking, just like meritocracy, is absolutely non-existent despite there being a parking garage.

Explore other reviews about Square Enix

5.0
25 Nov 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

great community and coworkers with great communication.

Cons

work hours are a bit stiff for me.

2.0
20 May 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Free food and drinks available often Free games and other goodies around releases and events Most people are friendly and easy/fun to work with/be around Annual bonus

Cons

Japan is stuck in the past and refuses to adapt or accept what gamers/NA coworkers actually need/want Customer Service has been outsourced to save costs but you get what you pay for Projects that would actually win the market have been cancelled consecutively to make room for slop Almost impossible to move up since there's no budget and practically zero opportunity

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