artist

research associate

project lead

warehouse associate

enterprise account manager

Keywords Studios

Short version: Sweatshop-style localization work on client premises, with great coworkers and horrible management.

Long version:
The work at Keywords is project based, meaning they will call you in to work X number of days or weeks. In between projects, you will be at home without compensation. When interviewing, they will tell you to expect 2-4 weeks of downtime per year, but this is very far from the truth. There is NO guarantee that you will have work, and when they do call you in, projects tend to shift and change with no warning. This means that you might show up to work, expecting a few weeks of income, only to be told that the project has been delayed. As projects get close to deadline, aforementioned poor planning manifests itself as last minute overtime requests, often on weekends.

Management is the main problem at Keywords. The top manager has often stated to me and others that his philosophy is: "I don't care if people hate me, because no one is irreplaceable."

This "Leadership Style" lays the foundation for how employees are treated, creating an often toxic atmosphere of intimidation and fear. The rest of the management team is typically overwhelmed and therefore mostly disinterested in the well-being of testers (to them, the priority is making Keywords look good to the client, not the employees). Don't expect anyone from management to be on top of communication, and don't expect to be thanked for your work.

The work itself includes looking over thousands of lines of text, or listening to thousands of audio files, so don't expect to be playing games all day. That said, if you have no gaming experience, you'll be lost when there is in-game testing to be done. There are times when the work can be fun, but that greatly depends on the project.

Compensation is low for the work and what management expects from you in terms of availability and "loyalty". They pay people based on a combination of how rare the languages are, and how desperate they are for filling that seat. If your language is common (such as Spanish), you will be making an hourly rate in the teens. If your language is harder to find, you can squeeze them for much more. If you do apply to work there, it's important that you know your value and ask for a matching hourly rate - because you are not likely to get a raise after you start.

While I was there, there were several examples of people who asked for a raise and were made to wait months for an answer (I waited 5 months). If you do get a raise, you risk being moved to the bottom of the list - meaning if there is another tester covering the same language for less, they will call them in before you when there is work to do. Not surprisingly, this sometimes creates jealousy and mistrust between testers.

Outside of the pre-scheduled breaks, you are expected to quietly sit and work even if there is nothing to do. This happens regularly due to poor planning, but you are still supposed to give the appearance of working on something. Again, this is so it looks good to the client. There will be days, where all you do is sit and look at a spreadsheet and wait for an email to tick in.

There is a high turnover of people, as many leave as soon as they find something elsewhere. While there, I offered numerous suggestions for how this could be improved, but was eventually told that it was not a priority, just the nature of the business.

If you are looking for a career path, you can try to work your way from tester to test lead. That's as far as it goes, though. Be prepared to go above and beyond to make yourself stick out from the others who are trying to do the same thing. I did exactly that, taking initiatives and developing tools and processes for the benefit of everyone, on my own accord, some of which ended up becoming department standards. This sort of thing is expected from those who seek advancement. However, even if you do succeed in getting a promotion, know that a lead position comes with a ton more responsibility and expectation, but your compensation will stay pretty much the same as when you were testing.

There is no HR available, should you have a need for that.

The good parts of working there is meeting nice people from all over the world, and learning about their cultures and lives. If you are interested in games, you will also get to see new titles before the public (of course, you don't get to choose which ones, so if you are an FPS fan, you may still end up testing a kids game).

If you are desperate for a job, working at KW may do for short term, though I would not recommend it. If you need stability and a good work environment, look elsewhere.

Things in my department are a lot better than they used to be. KEYWORDS is amazing and their upper management is pretty great about trying to make their employees feel important. I've worked in other QA jobs and Keywords does treat their contingent employees the best. You're NOT expendable. 

Things are different when you look at the management of the individual departments. I'm in a department that's not great. It's not the internal management's fault, but rather the client's expectations that we need to constantly be doing something or else they're wasting their money on us. Even if we're not given any specific tasks to do by our clients. So many days we resort to cleaning our work areas or just finding busy work that we know ultimately amounts to nothing. It's a bit demoralizing when you're told to clean the same thing you cleaned yesterday simply because the client didn't give you a task for the day. It's very much a "look busy" culture which doesn't work very well for me. There's nothing much management can do about this because it's not an unreasonable thing for the client to want from us. It's still demoralizing. 

Outside the department, however I think it's an amazing place to work. Upper management knows you and wants to get to know you. Their office parties are really, truly very fun. There's beer and BBQ, renting out entire theaters for the office to watch Star Wars, and great raffle prizes. HR is amazing and really wants to help you feel comfortable working here. Every month there's an open lunch forum where it's just a platform for people to talk about their passions. I feel that within this company, you never really lose yourself in the work. The company constantly reminds you that you're an individual and even if you're doing the work that a million other people could be doing, they want YOU here.

The company (Lakshya Digital) is based on some very smart concepts, but they are generally not followed. The idea was to get industry professionals to support outsourcing teams, but it seams to mainly have people with internship level backgrounds which are paid extremely low. This is being done to cut cost but it is starting to effect company reputation. The seeming solution is to hire under the Keywords name. 

You will head them say in your interview, "If you are tired of the production grind, join us for a better work life balance!" This is a blatant lie.  At this point they know they are as bad or worse then most other production environments and they wont't pay you for the overtime. They will also claim a more flexible work environment but fired everyone they approved to telecommute. 

The few skilled artists they do hire are overloaded and have a work environment with little to no flexibility, no overtime pay or compensation and bad benefits. Good artists generally don't stay long. 

The structure is also nonexistent. No one knows who is in charge. I heard two artists get in a heated discussion on the floor because they had both been hired to be the lead.

Internal experience is not valued so they almost always bring in people from outside the company rather than promote from within. This means all the people with intern level experience will never go anywhere. 

It is a shame however because you do get to work on some interesting things while the company gets you the training to be great at another company.

Nice office building. All the employees I worked with, management, and HR were all very nice. Most people here work on contracts even though they are direct hire with the company. I worked here for 5 months but was on a contract. Was able to work past the end date bc they had work, but after that due to contract nature, it was unknown how long the job would last. They say they try to rehire people with new ones or projects. They gave multiple positions here which is great and some that pay ok, but mine specifically did not. 

Positive experience overall, glad I worked here and would again. Owner was very nice and willing to assist with industry questions etc. Himself, hr were very professional and helpful. They gave a bonus for covid and had office precautions. They have multiple shift options, too, and were fine with working with me switching shifts to take a second job. Very helpful and easy to work with. Laid back culture. Work was easy and fun and low stress. They often bought us meals and held a party when our contract ended.i was always able to get quick, nice, and simple assistance from manager or hr if I had questions.

I didn't work in the office long before WFH started, which they seemed happy to do but not too prepared to train during. I mostly trained myself during WFH. However, my manager was great to talk to and made me feel comfortable in the team. 
There were certainly times where I wondered why some employees weren't doing their jobs. Sometimes this meant I had to cover it, sometimes I couldn't do anything even if I wanted to. It's aggravating but overall not the worst thing because the job was still fun. I legitimately enjoyed going to work and talking to my coworkers. 
With that being said, the pay is abysmal. I was barely able to get by on the low wage given the area I was in (and no, I could not move but not because of company policy). The holiday pay and PTO is nice though, and they don't care when you use the PTO at all. They truly seemed to care about employees taking some time off to relax and reset.
Job security I had to rate low because I was a contract employee and they gave me a week of notice. The layoff was technically the client and not them, but there is no reason why they couldn't afford my team and we produced better work (by far!) than other teams. I would still go back for a decent wage if they offered my position again though. 

Avoid this company. They don't seem to know what they want to be. Management is as skilled as a cartoon plot. Yelling and threatening happen daily, not to include the daily betrayal. Funding is practically non-existent. Work place feels like a prison. Bare walls, ugly carpet and an army of people that don't want to see or speak to each other(not to include the 50+ cameras). They work their hardest (or not at all) to only promote from within. Those who have been there the longest get the pat on the back, regardless of capability. They will constantly tell you "They don't have a policy for that." Which is code for "we will find any reason we want to fire you". No one trusts a single manager there and for a dang good reason. High turn over and quite low pay. Every day feels like they are just learning how to do their jobs (pretty much every section including management). The Redmond office is just labor for w/e Montreal or Dublin dictates. There is an insane amount of animosity between the sites. Company works to buy up to 10 studios per year, but don't fool yourself, unless you are part of the smaller studio, life will never be entertaining here. You will spend nearly every day looking over your back.

Keywords is a really great company to work for.  Upper level management (even going all the way up to the CEO), really care about individual well being. 

I've really been able to advance and grow; although most of my work requires the ability to be self-sufficient, it truly is a team effort. 

My manager is one of the best people I've ever met.  He really motivates me to succeed, because we are both so competitive, and wanting our team to be the best it can be.  When I started this position, I had other job offers on the table, and I couldn't have made a better decision. 

The hardest part of the job would also be the most enjoyable part (being self-sufficient, and hard working to achieve the desired goals) - it probably depends on what you do in the company, and if you are internal or contract.

I would recommend Keywords Studios HANDS DOWN - best job I've ever had, and if I could stay forever, I would in a heart beat.  I see nothing but good things to come for this company.

Working in this company as an FQA Tester is a truly enjoyable and rewarding experience. The role offers a great balance between responsibility and learning opportunities, which makes everyday tasks both engaging and meaningful. Being part of the quality assurance process allows me to contribute directly to the overall player experience, which is highly motivating. I appreciate the collaborative environment, where communication between QA, developers, and other departments is open and supportive.

The work itself is dynamic — from performing regression tests and investigating complex issues to documenting findings and ensuring product stability. Each project brings new challenges that help me grow professionally and improve my analytical thinking. I also value the structured workflows and the use of professional tools such as Jira, which make the testing process organized and efficient.

Overall, the position not only allows me to strengthen my technical and problem-solving skills, but also gives me a real sense of contribution to high-quality game development.

Working with my team was a truly enriching experience. From day one, the atmosphere was welcoming and collaborative, fostering a sense of camaraderie that propelled us towards our common goals. Communication flowed seamlessly, ensuring everyone was on the same page and contributing their unique perspectives. 

What stood out the most was our collective dedication to excellence. Each team member brought their best to the table, pushing boundaries and inspiring others to do the same. Challenges were met with resilience and ingenuity, turning obstacles into opportunities for growth. 

Moreover, the supportive environment nurtured professional development. Mentoring relationships flourished, enabling us to learn from one another and continually improve. Celebrating successes together further solidified our bonds, creating a sense of belonging and pride in our accomplishments. 

Overall, the synergy within our team made every day fulfilling and rewarding, highlighting the power of collaboration in achieving success.

So I live in Washington state and had to go to a remote location to do the interview to just get to work here. The place was located in Redmond for the interview and signing the paperwork. So here is the thing about the work day, you wait for months to get a email. You fill out the email survey to see if you "Qualify" for a spot in the test. The day of the test isn't a normal work day hours 4-8 hour shift, no its normal 1-2 hours. As for the pay they do not use the states minimum wage. Instead they decide on a soft minimum of like 10 dollars. The time is okay for most time zones. Normally it was at night for me but now its early in the morning. I wish I could say something positive like "It's at least a great starting point in the game industry." but it not. The fact is that from a few interviews with major game companies made me realize that I'm missing out on a lot of knowledge I need to know. It's hard to recommend anyone to work for them.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Artist 15 salaries reported	$71,500 per year
Research associate 18 salaries reported	$27.11 per hour
Project lead 21 salaries reported	$36.98 per hour
Warehouse associate 9 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour
Enterprise account manager 16 salaries reported	$167,188 per year

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