Riot Games is set to cut over 500 jobs. Remember the developer of The League of Legends, Riot Games, is reportedly laying off about 11% of its worldwide staff as the company focuses on its ‘core live games.’
Riot Games to Cut Over 500 Jobs
Riot Games, the maker of League of Legends, recently announced layoffs affecting 530 employees globally, representing approximately 11 percent of its total workforce. The company stated that it is refocusing on fewer high-impact projects to achieve a more sustainable future. This move is in line with a broader trend in the video game industry, which saw over 9,000 layoffs in the previous year.
The announcement follows a Game Developers Conference (GDC) survey indicating that 56 percent of respondents believed layoffs were likely for their studios as part of a “post-pandemic course correction.”
The Reason for the Layoffs
Riot Games CEO, Dylan Jadeja, shared in a company-wide message that the layoffs are a result of some of the significant investments made by the company not yielding the expected returns. The company had expanded the League of Legends universe across new games and other forms of entertainment as part of its 10th-anniversary expansions in 2019.
Riot Games is now refocusing on its core live games, including League of Legends, Valorant, Teamfight Tactics, and Wild Rift, as well as esports and events tied to these titles. The company is prioritizing these areas along with the ongoing development of the Project L 2D fighting game featuring League characters and the second season of the Arcane TV show for Netflix, scheduled for release in November. Employees affected by the layoffs will receive a minimum of six months of severance pay, with additional benefits for those who have been with the company longer.
The Main Aim of the Changes at Riot Games
The changes at Riot Games involve the refocusing and reduction of teams working on certain projects. Legends of Runeterra, the free-to-play card game, is among the affected projects, with the team being reduced and directed towards the PvE game mode due to the game not meeting performance expectations.
Riot Forge, the publishing label aimed at partnering with smaller studios to create League-related titles, will also see changes. Despite publishing six titles, Riot Forge will be shut down after the release of Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story.
Riot Games CEO Clarifies the Reason behind the Cuts
Riot Games CEO, Dylan Jadeja, clarified that the cuts are not aimed at appeasing investors but rather to focus the business on areas that provide the most player value. While these changes are part of Riot’s effort to prioritize core live games, esports, and related events, they result in job losses, adding to the industry-wide trend of layoffs, with over 3,800 jobs lost in 2024, as reported by Kotaku.
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