Pros: The people are professional and friendly, and you get to work on games with a global impact.

Cons: Lots of pressure and challenges as a large company, still trying to grow.

Pros: It's hard to think of any reason to work for a sweatshop.

Cons: Ok, so the list: When they fire people, they don't do it quietly. They send an e-mail to the entire company saying, "So-and-so is no longer an employee of Blizzard Entertainment. As with all guests, please escort them at all times when on company property." You've got to be kidding me! Do you think that boosts morale? What a joke. Regarding career development, I asked the lead game designer for WoW about what it would take for me to move from being a tools programmer to a game developer. My problem was I had no experience, and all job requirements say you need at least 2 shipped titles. Guess what his answer was? He told me, "To be quite honest, you'll probably have to leave Blizzard, get some experience elsewhere, then come back to work here." You've got to be freakin' kidding me if you consider that career growth and advancement opportunities.

Pros: Everyone from the top to the bottom genuinely cares, first and foremost, about making great games. No shovelware here, no publishers dictating design to try and catch the latest fad. Great products, successful company. I've had maybe 2 days of crunch in 4 years. It seems like every week we are celebrating someone's 10, 15, or 20 years here at Blizzard. People tend to join and never leave. Art, design, and other creative fields are respected much more here compared to other companies (I'm an engineer, FWIW). I've seen several problems come up which would be company-sinking crises at other studios (I've worked at 7 other game studios and have seen many layoffs and shutdowns), but here, the ship changed course, smart decisions were made and implemented, and disasters were averted. Pretty amazing.

Cons: The fact that Blizzard has such good employee retention means there are a lot of people with 10, 15, or 20 years of experience who have never worked anywhere else. In my opinion, "fresh blood" from the outside would be helpful to get some things up to modern industry standards.