The first in a series of articles interviewing former and current employees who candidly share their experiences working for one of the most tarnished brands in esports
What vile cretins these people truly seem to be. The perfect symbolization of Corporate Culture's Godzilla foot stomping down on eSports. Every LinkedIn post by EG is the most cringe, corporate, useless shit I have ever seen and it makes me sad for the people that built EG into what it once was.
"She would say repeatedly that everyone’s job at the company first was to protect Nicole. Not to win, not to protect the brand or the employees but to protect Nicole."
Jesus, they are living up to one part of the name, and it's not Geniuses...
Thanks for collecting these stories and writing about them, holding a light to the rot inside the company is no small task but one me and I'm sure many others in the community are thankful for, even without any connection to the people involved
I've been saying since the first week Nicole came in and threw her face all over their twitter that it was a narcissistic decision based company now, and the entire brand seemed like it was about her and not esports or the players. EG was about the players and like a family, it might not have been a heavy hitter in terms of profit but it did right by it's people. I had friends who have been signed to the org for years, who said the second that Peak6 bought the company it no longer was a company they wanted to be with.
Great article and wow, I knew it was bad but would’ve never imagined that it is so bad. Hopefully it can die in a fire and rise as a phoenix to be the new old EG again.
Sounds like it already died but was reanimated instead of reborn and is now just flapping around, reeking and decaying and releasing a load of toxic hot air
I can confirm that, as a former employee of another Peak6 company, this tracks with the Peak6 culture. It's beyond toxic. They talk a lot about equality and empowering women. What they mean is they empower women that think like they do, which includes micromanaging talent, lots and lots of ego, and to see people as chess pieces instead of humans. They manage in a very transactional way, with very little regard for how the constant "push" for operational excellence impacts people. And when it does start to impact people, they tell themselves and anyone else who'll listen that it's because that person "just isn't the right fit". I see they've recently updated some language on their website. It used to include language that very openly shared the spirit of the culture: you're expected to work hard all the time, and we're elite and not everyone can be us. (Please don't take it as a direct quote). Now it says, (direct quote) "The industries we choose to work in come with unique challenges that other markets and fields refuse to take on, but that only resolves us to push ourselves beyond expectations. This mandates a work culture that’s not for the faint of heart but demands a heart of gold to see the success around you." The expectation is you'll give 200% non stop throughout your career. There's no rest, there's no break, there's no refreshing and regrouping. You'll work yourself until you can't physically work anymore. So again, this completely tracks.
What vile cretins these people truly seem to be. The perfect symbolization of Corporate Culture's Godzilla foot stomping down on eSports. Every LinkedIn post by EG is the most cringe, corporate, useless shit I have ever seen and it makes me sad for the people that built EG into what it once was.
"She would say repeatedly that everyone’s job at the company first was to protect Nicole. Not to win, not to protect the brand or the employees but to protect Nicole."
Jesus, they are living up to one part of the name, and it's not Geniuses...
Thanks for collecting these stories and writing about them, holding a light to the rot inside the company is no small task but one me and I'm sure many others in the community are thankful for, even without any connection to the people involved
Brilliant article from Rich! Set up the corporate degeneracy unfolding at EG perfectly and has left me eagerly awaiting more.
Great read, can't wait for the next installments of this series. What a joke this org has become.
I've been saying since the first week Nicole came in and threw her face all over their twitter that it was a narcissistic decision based company now, and the entire brand seemed like it was about her and not esports or the players. EG was about the players and like a family, it might not have been a heavy hitter in terms of profit but it did right by it's people. I had friends who have been signed to the org for years, who said the second that Peak6 bought the company it no longer was a company they wanted to be with.
Clearly she reads the NYT everyday
"I thought she was having a bad day but then I realised that’s just who she is."
Lmao raise your hand if you've ever worked for someone like this
I last at most 2 weeks working for people like this, it's simply not worth your time as a human being to be around them
Great article and wow, I knew it was bad but would’ve never imagined that it is so bad. Hopefully it can die in a fire and rise as a phoenix to be the new old EG again.
Sounds like it already died but was reanimated instead of reborn and is now just flapping around, reeking and decaying and releasing a load of toxic hot air
Is this Jessica Hammond woman the same person as the GamerDoc person on Twitter that Thorin mentioned lots in his video?
Nah gamerdoc is a different person. Which is even worse because that means there’s 2 of them.
Fantastic read as always
I can confirm that, as a former employee of another Peak6 company, this tracks with the Peak6 culture. It's beyond toxic. They talk a lot about equality and empowering women. What they mean is they empower women that think like they do, which includes micromanaging talent, lots and lots of ego, and to see people as chess pieces instead of humans. They manage in a very transactional way, with very little regard for how the constant "push" for operational excellence impacts people. And when it does start to impact people, they tell themselves and anyone else who'll listen that it's because that person "just isn't the right fit". I see they've recently updated some language on their website. It used to include language that very openly shared the spirit of the culture: you're expected to work hard all the time, and we're elite and not everyone can be us. (Please don't take it as a direct quote). Now it says, (direct quote) "The industries we choose to work in come with unique challenges that other markets and fields refuse to take on, but that only resolves us to push ourselves beyond expectations. This mandates a work culture that’s not for the faint of heart but demands a heart of gold to see the success around you." The expectation is you'll give 200% non stop throughout your career. There's no rest, there's no break, there's no refreshing and regrouping. You'll work yourself until you can't physically work anymore. So again, this completely tracks.