BANDAI NAMCO Interview Questions
& Process

It was a rough process, super aggressive and I was ghosted. One hiring manager was really intimidating with his interview tactics, very arrogant. I went through 3 interviews, one lasting 2 hours. After a month of no communication, I got a generic rejection email. It's probably for the best, I heard they overwork their employees.

I started with a recruiter phone call, then had multiple team interviews with designers, project managers, video producers, managers, and the art director. This took weeks and involved a design project and review. I was told I was one of two finalists, and they'd get back to me quickly. Then I was ghosted for weeks. I tried contacting people since the hiring manager was leaving, but wasn't sure who to talk to. After about 9 weeks, I got an email saying they were interviewing more candidates but I was still in the running. Six months later, another email said they chose other candidates. The whole hiring process was terrible and secretive about pay, even in the final stages. Most interviewers said they'd pick me. It was weird, they play the long game and waste your time. I spent over 8 hours plus about 6 hours on a multi-part design project. They asked for my expected pay of 80-100k for relocating to Irvine, which has a high cost of living. They said it was too high and I needed to lower my expectations. I was surprised because I make around 70k in the Midwest with a much lower cost of living. It seems they underpay employees and require them to work in office, which is a red flag for artists.

I was hesitant to speak with BNEA initially based on past reviews, but I was looking for new challenges, growth, and to join a young team with big plans. The hiring manager and I had a phone screen where I asked about the team's goals, competencies, and mobile roadmap to ensure compatibility, leading to a couple of follow-up calls. Next, I met the mobile executive team. The recruiting team prepared me well for the onsite, sending a detailed itinerary. The onsite included 1:1 interviews and some panel interviews. The team is experienced in gaming and mobile, building a strong mobile team in Development and Publishing. They operate like a startup, with everyone playing a key role in growing the mobile business. I enjoyed the conversations and felt my career goals aligned. I also appreciate that BNEA is family-friendly, allowing me a few months to transition after receiving the offer to spend time with my daughter, which I'm very grateful for. My experience so far has been great and different from older reviews.

I applied on bestjobs.ro and got a call from a recruiter two days later. We set up a technical interview for the following week. The interview itself started with about 5 minutes of questions about my CV and previous experience. Then, for the next 2 hours, I had to complete a 20-question test focusing on Java, C/C++, and OOP concepts. After I finished, I discussed my answers with one of their software engineers. The team was great, and the interviewer was really supportive, but also pushed me to show what I could do. The questions were fairly basic, though some were quite interesting and made me think a bit. It was enjoyable to solve them.