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Striking Distance Studios

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A Sinking AAAA Ship - Anonymous employee Striking Distance Studios Employee Review

1.0
7 Feb 2023
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The people you work with are some of the most talented in the industry

Cons

If you are a designer, be prepared to have your designs thrown out or overridden by C-Staff If you are a programmer, be prepared to be blamed for every problem No longer any sense of job security, most of the best people have left or are preparing to leave. According to C-Staff, "people first" means doing anything you can to get the game done, including staying late and skipping meals. Many benefits will be cut back due to budget cuts AAAA culture is embarrassing when you actively attempt to hide problems with the game to increase morale and don't address them before launch.

Explore other reviews about Striking Distance Studios

5.0
24 Oct 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Flexible teams, awesome people, passionate leadership

Cons

None that I know of

2.0
18 Aug 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Early leadership fostered creativity, collaboration, and strong team culture. Some engineers are paid competitively. Benefits were very good at the start (this has since been reduced/changed to very average benefits). Talented team members (though many have since left). The studio still has potential if leadership course-corrects.

Cons

Current leadership (under CEO Steve Papoutsis) makes top-down decisions without involving teams. Redundant meetings waste time instead of streamlining work. “Not mandatory” overtime, but heavily implied through the “inappropriate hours” Slack channel where leadership stays online in zoom meetings until the late evening, leaving feedback that feels like it requires immediate response. Severe pay disparities: some engineers earn fair wages, others are grossly underpaid for equal or greater workloads. Layoffs prioritized cutting those who voiced concerns/opinions to leadership or who didn’t put in late-night hours, regardless of talent or contributions. Most of the great leadership and talent left after being overworked and underpaid.

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