Riot Games has announced that it is reducing its workforce by approximately 530 employees, equal to 11% of its total employees. This decision comes with the conclusion of the company’s publishing arm, Riot Forge, which has been in operation for five years.
In response to the changes, Riot Games has communicated directly with the affected employees, providing details about the severance package, access to job placement services, counseling, visa support, and the provision of new laptops for those who need them. The company has assured that those affected are primarily from non-core development teams.
Riot Games’ CEO Dylan Jadeja expressed his regret about the layoffs, stating, “There’s no way around the fact that this is an extremely sad moment…We’re committed to doing our best to support you in this moment and through this transition.”
The company shared with its players that the decision to cut jobs was not taken lightly and was deemed necessary. “This isn’t to appease shareholders or to hit a quarterly earnings number—it’s a necessity,” Jadeja said.
The impact of the organizational changes will be felt in two significant areas – Riot Forge and the digital collectible card game Legends of Runeterra.
Riot Forge, which was launched in 2019 to collaborate with independent developers on new League of Legends stories, has released five games and is set to launch a sixth titled Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story. Following the release of this game on Nintendo Switch and PC, Riot Forge will cease its operations.
Although Legends of Runeterra will not be shut down, Jadeja admitted that it has not performed as well as anticipated. The company plans to downsize the team and focus on enhancing its single-player adventure mode, “Path of Champions.”
Jadeja explained, “Some of the significant investments we’ve made aren’t paying off the way we expected them to. Our costs have grown to the point where they’re unsustainable, and we’ve left ourselves with no room for experimentation or failure – which is vital to a creative company like ours. All of this puts the core of our business at risk.”
Riot Games is among several video game publishers, including Epic Games, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, and Activision Blizzard, that have recently implemented significant job cuts in response to business challenges.
