Blizzard

Software Engineer Interview Experience - Irvine, California

November 1, 2019

Positive ExperienceNo Offer

Process

Applied online for the backend server position. The first phone call was a standard HR phone call with the recruiter. The second was a call with lead/senior engineers about experience and standard C++/object-oriented questions. After that, I completed a HackerRank challenge. Then, an onsite interview with a tour around their facility (extremely cool), system design, coding, lunch, and a culture fit interview. Questions were standard and not unnecessarily difficult, like at other tech companies. It pretty much served as a real indicator for them if you have the experience that they are looking for or not. I heard a couple of business days later that they would not move forward with me.

While I was very disappointed not to get the offer, I was very appreciative of the team for being super friendly, very communicative throughout the process, and being kind enough to explain things that I didn't know / help me get to the solution they were looking for, as well as providing sufficient feedback on what I could improve on in the future. Many companies don't provide any specific feedback, and you are left wondering.

They did show that they understand that interviewing is stressful for candidates and that they care to make it a great experience for them regardless of the outcome.

Easily the best interviewing experience I have ever had with any company.

Questions

I signed an NDA, but I'll say focus on distributed systems and how to design a feature. Be sure to know your multi-threading/thread synchronization tools for real scenarios, as well as standard data structures and algorithms.

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Interview Statistics

The following metrics were computed from 15 interview experiences for the Blizzard Software Engineer role in Irvine, California.

Success Rate

47%

Pass Rate

Blizzard's interview process for their Software Engineer roles in Irvine, California is fairly selective, failing a large portion of engineers who go through it.

Experience Rating

Positive67%

Neutral13%

Negative20%

Candidates reported having very good feelings for Blizzard's Software Engineer interview process in Irvine, California.

Blizzard Work Experiences

Some big ups and some big downs

Software Engineer • Former Employee

Irvine, California, United States

September 15, 2024

Pros: You'll work alongside industry veterans of an extremely high caliber, on meaningful projects that will be good for developing your skills. Campus is full of awesome statues, artwork, and other artifacts from Blizzard's long history. There are some really cool places like the library, and dogs are welcome. Fun on-campus events for game launches, etc. Campus cafeteria is subsidized to a pretty good level (though not entirely free). We also have an on-site Starbucks serving custom drinks. Even after all the company has gone through in the last few years, I still felt proud saying that I worked for Blizzard, and it was always very rewarding to be able to show friends and family around the place, give out free WoW time, etc. Some nice small perks since the Microsoft takeover: * Free Xbox Game Pass * Discounts on MS products (both physical and digital) * Access to the MS employee merchandise store. 401k match is solid, and health benefits are generous. You get a free collector's edition of every new game, and swag giveaways are not infrequent. Excellent work/life balance. My manager was happy to let me work remotely for short stretches from my home country when I was visiting family.

Cons: I joined just before the sexual harassment scandal broke in 2021, and since then it felt like a slow drip of one bad news story after the other until the merger was announced. Having worked so long and hard to get to this company, it was extremely demoralizing. You're hardly on poverty wages at Blizzard, but compensation and other perks clearly drag behind the competition, and for a company of this prominence, that's simply not good enough. Hopes that the Microsoft merger would bring more perks and better pay seem to have been misplaced. Little seemed to change for us since the merger was finalized. Our team was halved overnight in the most recent round of layoffs. This came as a shock, as we had had no indication of the game doing poorly or that there was a reason measures would have to be taken imminently. One moment things seemed okay, and the next moment I didn't have a job. All pros I mentioned about the Irvine HQ are still relevant; however, it's clear that the office space is quite old and many facilities really need a facelift, the gym and locker rooms in particular. Seoul and Taipei offices seem newer and a lot more modern; it almost looks more appealing to work there than in HQ. Orange County can be a difficult place to live in, unless the suburban sprawl is something you're happy with.

Some big ups and some big downs

Software Engineer • Former Employee

Irvine, California, United States

September 15, 2024

Pros: You'll work alongside industry veterans of an extremely high caliber, on meaningful projects that will be good for developing your skills. Campus is full of awesome statues, artwork, and other artifacts from Blizzard's long history. There are some really cool places like the library, and dogs are welcome. Fun on-campus events for game launches, etc. Campus cafeteria is subsidized to a pretty good level (though not entirely free). We also have an on-site Starbucks serving custom drinks. Even after all the company has gone through in the last few years, I still felt proud saying that I worked for Blizzard, and it was always very rewarding to be able to show friends and family around the place, give out free WoW time, etc. Some nice small perks since the Microsoft takeover: * Free Xbox Game Pass * Discounts on MS products (both physical and digital) * Access to the MS employee merchandise store. 401k match is solid, and health benefits are generous. You get a free collector's edition of every new game, and swag giveaways are not infrequent. Excellent work/life balance. My manager was happy to let me work remotely for short stretches from my home country when I was visiting family.

Cons: I joined just before the sexual harassment scandal broke in 2021, and since then it felt like a slow drip of one bad news story after the other until the merger was announced. Having worked so long and hard to get to this company, it was extremely demoralizing. You're hardly on poverty wages at Blizzard, but compensation and other perks clearly drag behind the competition, and for a company of this prominence, that's simply not good enough. Hopes that the Microsoft merger would bring more perks and better pay seem to have been misplaced. Little seemed to change for us since the merger was finalized. Our team was halved overnight in the most recent round of layoffs. This came as a shock, as we had had no indication of the game doing poorly or that there was a reason measures would have to be taken imminently. One moment things seemed okay, and the next moment I didn't have a job. All pros I mentioned about the Irvine HQ are still relevant; however, it's clear that the office space is quite old and many facilities really need a facelift, the gym and locker rooms in particular. Seoul and Taipei offices seem newer and a lot more modern; it almost looks more appealing to work there than in HQ. Orange County can be a difficult place to live in, unless the suburban sprawl is something you're happy with.

Great company, my dream company since I was a kid

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Irvine, California, United States

December 30, 2022

Pros: Great company Great teams Great colleagues Great titles Great perks

Cons: - Unclear career progress definition. - Cooperation between teams might generate lots of blocked tasks and wait times.

Great company, my dream company since I was a kid

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Irvine, California, United States

December 30, 2022

Pros: Great company Great teams Great colleagues Great titles Great perks

Cons: - Unclear career progress definition. - Cooperation between teams might generate lots of blocked tasks and wait times.

A great company, and a great team!

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Irvine, California, United States

November 29, 2023

Pros: I started about 2 years ago, in the aftermath of issues Blizzard had at the time. All employees were required to take many online courses that spanned safety, discrimination, attention to bias, and the like. So, I saw no issues, as everybody has embraced the new culture. My team is awesome! The other people are always very helpful, and an environment of real teamwork is present where we all put in effort to make sure each one of us is successful. As a senior experienced engineer, I made some suggestions soon after joining. Not only was I listened to, the management encouraged me to implement my ideas, which resulted in some better workflows. I really like the "Great, let's do better" attitude. I've had my share of NIH companies in the past, so this is a breath of fresh air.

Cons: After the post-COVID return-to-office wave, the previously free breakfast and lunch now cost money.

A great company, and a great team!

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Irvine, California, United States

November 29, 2023

Pros: I started about 2 years ago, in the aftermath of issues Blizzard had at the time. All employees were required to take many online courses that spanned safety, discrimination, attention to bias, and the like. So, I saw no issues, as everybody has embraced the new culture. My team is awesome! The other people are always very helpful, and an environment of real teamwork is present where we all put in effort to make sure each one of us is successful. As a senior experienced engineer, I made some suggestions soon after joining. Not only was I listened to, the management encouraged me to implement my ideas, which resulted in some better workflows. I really like the "Great, let's do better" attitude. I've had my share of NIH companies in the past, so this is a breath of fresh air.

Cons: After the post-COVID return-to-office wave, the previously free breakfast and lunch now cost money.

Some big ups and some big downs

Software Engineer • Former Employee

Irvine, California, United States

September 15, 2024

Pros: You'll work alongside industry veterans of an extremely high caliber, on meaningful projects that will be good for developing your skills. Campus is full of awesome statues, artwork, and other artifacts from Blizzard's long history. There are some really cool places like the library, and dogs are welcome. Fun on-campus events for game launches, etc. Campus cafeteria is subsidized to a pretty good level (though not entirely free). We also have an on-site Starbucks serving custom drinks. Even after all the company has gone through in the last few years, I still felt proud saying that I worked for Blizzard, and it was always very rewarding to be able to show friends and family around the place, give out free WoW time, etc. Some nice small perks since the Microsoft takeover: * Free Xbox Game Pass * Discounts on MS products (both physical and digital) * Access to the MS employee merchandise store. 401k match is solid, and health benefits are generous. You get a free collector's edition of every new game, and swag giveaways are not infrequent. Excellent work/life balance. My manager was happy to let me work remotely for short stretches from my home country when I was visiting family.

Cons: I joined just before the sexual harassment scandal broke in 2021, and since then it felt like a slow drip of one bad news story after the other until the merger was announced. Having worked so long and hard to get to this company, it was extremely demoralizing. You're hardly on poverty wages at Blizzard, but compensation and other perks clearly drag behind the competition, and for a company of this prominence, that's simply not good enough. Hopes that the Microsoft merger would bring more perks and better pay seem to have been misplaced. Little seemed to change for us since the merger was finalized. Our team was halved overnight in the most recent round of layoffs. This came as a shock, as we had had no indication of the game doing poorly or that there was a reason measures would have to be taken imminently. One moment things seemed okay, and the next moment I didn't have a job. All pros I mentioned about the Irvine HQ are still relevant; however, it's clear that the office space is quite old and many facilities really need a facelift, the gym and locker rooms in particular. Seoul and Taipei offices seem newer and a lot more modern; it almost looks more appealing to work there than in HQ. Orange County can be a difficult place to live in, unless the suburban sprawl is something you're happy with.

3.0
Some big ups and some big downs
Software Engineer • Former Employee
Irvine, California, United States
September 15, 2024
Pros: You'll work alongside industry veterans of an extremely high caliber, on meaningful projects that will be good for developing your skills. Campus is full of awesome statues, artwork, and other artifacts from Blizzard's long history. There are some really cool places like the library, and dogs are welcome. Fun on-campus events for game launches, etc. Campus cafeteria is subsidized to a pretty good level (though not entirely free). We also have an on-site Starbucks serving custom drinks. Even after all the company has gone through in the last few years, I still felt proud saying that I worked for Blizzard, and it was always very rewarding to be able to show friends and family around the place, give out free WoW time, etc. Some nice small perks since the Microsoft takeover: * Free Xbox Game Pass * Discounts on MS products (both physical and digital) * Access to the MS employee merchandise store. 401k match is solid, and health benefits are generous. You get a free collector's edition of every new game, and swag giveaways are not infrequent. Excellent work/life balance. My manager was happy to let me work remotely for short stretches from my home country when I was visiting family.
Cons: I joined just before the sexual harassment scandal broke in 2021, and since then it felt like a slow drip of one bad news story after the other until the merger was announced. Having worked so long and hard to get to this company, it was extremely demoralizing. You're hardly on poverty wages at Blizzard, but compensation and other perks clearly drag behind the competition, and for a company of this prominence, that's simply not good enough. Hopes that the Microsoft merger would bring more perks and better pay seem to have been misplaced. Little seemed to change for us since the merger was finalized. Our team was halved overnight in the most recent round of layoffs. This came as a shock, as we had had no indication of the game doing poorly or that there was a reason measures would have to be taken imminently. One moment things seemed okay, and the next moment I didn't have a job. All pros I mentioned about the Irvine HQ are still relevant; however, it's clear that the office space is quite old and many facilities really need a facelift, the gym and locker rooms in particular. Seoul and Taipei offices seem newer and a lot more modern; it almost looks more appealing to work there than in HQ. Orange County can be a difficult place to live in, unless the suburban sprawl is something you're happy with.

Great company, my dream company since I was a kid

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Irvine, California, United States

December 30, 2022

Pros: Great company Great teams Great colleagues Great titles Great perks

Cons: - Unclear career progress definition. - Cooperation between teams might generate lots of blocked tasks and wait times.

4.0
Great company, my dream company since I was a kid
Software Engineer • Current Employee
Irvine, California, United States
December 30, 2022
Pros: Great company Great teams Great colleagues Great titles Great perks
Cons: - Unclear career progress definition. - Cooperation between teams might generate lots of blocked tasks and wait times.

A great company, and a great team!

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Irvine, California, United States

November 29, 2023

Pros: I started about 2 years ago, in the aftermath of issues Blizzard had at the time. All employees were required to take many online courses that spanned safety, discrimination, attention to bias, and the like. So, I saw no issues, as everybody has embraced the new culture. My team is awesome! The other people are always very helpful, and an environment of real teamwork is present where we all put in effort to make sure each one of us is successful. As a senior experienced engineer, I made some suggestions soon after joining. Not only was I listened to, the management encouraged me to implement my ideas, which resulted in some better workflows. I really like the "Great, let's do better" attitude. I've had my share of NIH companies in the past, so this is a breath of fresh air.

Cons: After the post-COVID return-to-office wave, the previously free breakfast and lunch now cost money.

5.0
A great company, and a great team!
Software Engineer • Current Employee
Irvine, California, United States
November 29, 2023
Pros: I started about 2 years ago, in the aftermath of issues Blizzard had at the time. All employees were required to take many online courses that spanned safety, discrimination, attention to bias, and the like. So, I saw no issues, as everybody has embraced the new culture. My team is awesome! The other people are always very helpful, and an environment of real teamwork is present where we all put in effort to make sure each one of us is successful. As a senior experienced engineer, I made some suggestions soon after joining. Not only was I listened to, the management encouraged me to implement my ideas, which resulted in some better workflows. I really like the "Great, let's do better" attitude. I've had my share of NIH companies in the past, so this is a breath of fresh air.
Cons: After the post-COVID return-to-office wave, the previously free breakfast and lunch now cost money.

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