Relocation packages are pretty common at large software companies in the US. For the big companies here in Seattle it tends to involve a month or so stay in a luxury apartment complex, paid for by the company, while you find your future house/apartment. Then again, these companies are also paying large enough starting bonuses even to new college grads that relocation assistance is more of a perk than a necessity.

A quick perusal of Glassdoor suggests that the larger game studios (like EA) definitely offer relocation packages, it's hard to say how generous they may be.

Yeah my experiences echo what swiftcoder said -- larger companies will pay for the relocation of new (non-junior) hires, which often includes a temporary stay in an apartment owned by or temporarily leased by the company. If you're moving internationally they'll also often help you set up bank accounts, find your own permanent rental, etc...

I haven't personally heard of relocation packages being offered to juniors before.

1 hour ago, Josheir said:

dormitory

I have never heard of this... That sounds like a sweatshop.

45 minutes ago, Hodgman said:

I haven't personally heard of relocation packages being offered to juniors before.

I know companies here offer relocation-style support for interns. Don't know about juniors specifically, but given that they do help everyone out with visa applications, etc. I wouldn't be surprised.

Plus, with signing bonuses for juniors in the multiple 5-figures range, what's a months rent and a moving van between friends?

4 hours ago, swiftcoder said:

Plus, with signing bonuses for juniors in the multiple 5-figures range

Is this in video games, or a different industry???  Hiring a Junior does a lot of short-term harm to a project in the hope of reaping a benefit in the future... I can't imagine any games company paying a bonus for that privilege, nor going through international visa hassles, etc.

It might be different in the US, but to hire a foreigner here, you have to prove that the job cannot be filled by any local applicants. For junior/entry-level roles, that pretty much makes it impossible to hire a junior on a visa.

On 10/30/2017 at 12:02 AM, Hodgman said:

Is this in video games, or a different industry

No, general software engineering, but there's less difference in this area - Amazon and Microsoft each have in-house game studios and engine development teams that are hired/paid roughly the same as everyone else in the company.

The US is definitely quite different in that regard - on my team of 12 engineers, only 3 of us are American citizens, and 100% of the juniors are from overseas.