Micromanagement and toxic culture outweigh the positives - Anonymous employee Marmalade Game Studio Employee Review

One could argue that they have good benefits in terms of remote work policy and health insure but that's about it. Good overall professionals and social environment. 80% of the people that work there are actually nice and caring. Some of the best professionals I had the pleasure to work with.

This company suffers from extreme micro managing that is reflected across the board. There is little to no effort in making sure that there is a clean and healthy environment in the developing process. Deadlines are enforced with an iron hand which then reflects in the inability to listen or care about other people's opinions. In the past the company had the modus operandi of trying to figure out a problem and trying to solve it together. But nowadays it seems that the standard is to just point fingers and make sure to find anyone to blame for a bad layed out scope. You could say that there's a possibility to climb the ladder at Marmalade but there is no ladder in the first place. People have been hired and moved internally on pure vibes with no actual procedures. Most of those ended up in unemployment or reverting back to their previous positions. This is not a creative first company. Prepare to have more responsabilities than the ones you signed up for - because if you don't do them then you're not a team player. It's a very CEO centered company with random demands that may show up at the very end of a certain scope that was up until that point going to deliver. Then when you don't deliver it's on you. "How could you have not forseen this situation? Disapointement".

There was once a genuine good agreement and processes in place that supported growth and direction. There are great. Health insurance perks and team seniors to learn from.

I write this now because enough time has passed for me to reflect on the experience clearly. There is nothing inherently wrong with Marmalade as a company, but I do not believe the CEOs or the leadership beneath them can be trusted. At one point, I had intended to leave and join a competing company. When I attempted to do so, I was persuaded to stay with promises of improved perks, greater responsibility, and increased value within the company. Staying was a huge mistake on my part. What followed over the next two years felt like a systematic undermining of my work. The promises that were made were never fulfilled. My decisions were regularly overruled, ignored, or outright removed by leadership. Whether leadership was misleading the CEOs or simply acting on their instructions, I cannot say. Either way, I was repeatedly positioned as the fall guy for failures and mistakes that stemmed from poor leadership decisions. Whenever I raised concerns or expressed distress about the situation, I was met with more promises, defensive responses, and claims that I was being paranoid or imagining things. Over time, I was gradually removed from important discussions and responsibilities, effectively isolated within the company simply because I had once tried to leave. My advice to anyone dealing with them is simple: treat every offer, deal, or promise with extreme caution, and ensure everything is put in writing. Even during the company redundancies, it became clear how much institutional knowledge and responsibility I had carried. Replacing my role required hiring three separate individuals to cover the skills and experience I had provided alone. I have been pursuing legal representation on this matter alone. Ultimately, the betrayal left a lasting scar and made it difficult for me to trust people for a long time afterward.