Naughty Dog Employee Reviews about "crunch hours"

Pros

- good benefits and pay - the bonuses are really nice - you are almost guaranteed to work on a best selling, well reviewed game - people are super talented and motivated - full-time employees don't have to worry about being laid off after a project ends (though they do tend to leave in droves between projects because the crunch burns everyone out) - the worst of crunch usually occurs once every 2-3 years and lasts anywhere from 8 months to 14 months. When we're doing reasonable hours and not crunching, this is a great place to work

Cons

- management doesn't communicate with each other and no one seems to take deadlines seriously, often leading to confusing, conflicting and often contradicting direction/feedback at the last minute. - the crunch hours are awful. This has been the worst/longest crunch I've ever been part of. Despite management's efforts to mitigate crunch with careful planning and strict deadlines, the game ballooned, level designs changed (after design lock - see note *no one takes deadlines seriously) and thousands of hours of work were thrown away or redone. - if you have a child or a loved one waiting for you at home, chances are you won't see their waking faces for days at a time. They either need to be really understanding or this is not the job for you.

Pros

Work on amazing games with great people

Cons

Insane crunch hours, little to no recognition or acknowledgment

Pros

+ Great medical insurance + Best benefits + Employees are industry veterans and super skilled + Fun working environment

Cons

- Crunch hours are sometimes really intense - Some distractions while working