Which game dev or google?

You already know the answer...

I worked in games for a while. Google is the obvious answer. Blizzard is having a ton of issues right now, Riot isn't exactly in a great place. Game development can be a slog. If it's a dream of yours then OK but otherwise meh

You’re an sde with 8 yoe and only making 160k? That’s sde1 pay. Gaming will be forever sde1 pay. So don’t do games unless you are okay with much lower pay.

Fuck the games industry. I was in it for over a decade and I don't miss it one bit.

IMO Riot has a lot of exciting work happening right now. Expectations for PMs are a bit tricky, but they are doing more work to clarify the role. Historically it's been different depending on the team. Great place to be if you love games and want to work with a bunch of people with shared interests.

Previously at Bethesda Softworks, currently at Riot. BSW is certainly different than ZOS but I definitely prefer Riot by a large margin.

Blizzard pay will not beat your current TC sadly and neither will Zenimax. For your role in PM the most lucrative game company is Riot but if you aren't passionate about games then Google is your best bet for TC.

Riot is great if you're fine working for 20 percent under what you're worth. This is an issue across gaming industry ... You'll make much more much faster at Google.

Blizz is great if you're going into game development, you won't have any financial compensation issues and definitely be open to negotiation regardless of where you go. The perks, people and executive leadership are the best part. The external perception of things "being rocky" is valid from the outside looking in, but internally the goals and vision are clear and it's an exciting time to jump in. If your personality clicks with the team you are interviewing for and you feel you're a good culture fit, go for it. It's the best decision I've made even though I took a huge pay dive coming in and was super overqualified when I entered that role. It didn't take long to get back up. While I could still make more anywhere else, I'll take happiness and empowerment to do my job the way I want, with a good manager, over office politics any day. It's a big place so there are known rumors, like be weary of battle net and eSports there are rumors of bad moral issues that trickles down from the top But both teams have people actively working to improve it and, it really is dependent on the team you're in inder those groups. Regardless of where you are going, if you are a brilliant asshole don't bother. I find egos who aren't team players are never happy here. If you have the typical diversity concerns (as most do when entering the gaming space) this is a great place to be, with amazing internal communities and leadership support. It's one of the few gaming companies that consistently provide profit share bonuses and will set pride aside for the betterment of it's customers. While old school game devs are aggro that we are getting too corporate, and "losing the culture." Honestly, we are just maturing as a business. And it's clear there are plans to keep it balanced and fair. Maturity means things are just becoming more focused on what really matters, making epic games. Oh and there is wiggle room when mistakes are made so long as you learn and grow from them it's a pretty stress free environment. Wherever you go good luck on your gaming journey!

Depends on where your passion is. If you want work with games, come to Riot. Do you want to sell ads, Google. ;)