Riot Games, the video game developer behind the massively popular League of Legends, announced major layoffs on Monday, amounting to 530 positions, or around 11% of its total staff.
The Tencent-owned, Los Angeles-based company stated that these job cuts are part of a larger restructuring to sharpen Riot’s focus on key projects and establish a more sustainable business model going forward. Riot has expanded rapidly in recent years across multiple new games, media projects and esports leagues.
In a letter to employees, Riot CEO Dylan Jadeja explained that the decision comes down to a need to refocus efforts on fewer, higher-priority projects. Over the last few years, Riot has more than doubled its employee count while expanding into developing new games beyond League of Legends. However, Jadeja admitted that this growth has come without enough discernment about which projects deliver the most value.
“Today, we’re a company without a sharp enough focus, and simply put, we have too many things underway,” he wrote.
The layoffs will impact teams across the company, but especially those not working directly on game development. The cuts are intended to help Riot concentrate resources on its core games like League while reducing investment in secondary projects.
Jadeja was clear that the move was not financially motivated but rather a strategic realignment. Riot aims to double down on the types of gaming experiences that resonate most with players. This includes plans to continue improving League of Legends while also pushing forward on in-development titles like the fighting game Project L.
At the same time, Jadeja announced they would be dialling back support for Legends of Runeterra, a digital card game set in the League universe. Despite high hopes, Runeterra has faced ongoing financial struggles and hasn’t achieved the success Riot expected. As a result, the team working on it will be downsized.
Additionally, Riot Games is shuttering its indie publishing label Riot Forge. Announced in 2019, Riot Forge aimed to publish smaller third-party games set in the League of Legends universe. Riot published several titles through the label, including Ruined King: A League of Legends Story, Hextech Mayhem: A League of Legends Story, and the upcoming Bandle Tale.
However, Riot CEO Dylan Jadeja said Riot Forge and these ancillary games are not viewed as “core” to the company’s business. As part of refocusing efforts on Riot’s biggest titles like League and Valorant, the entire Riot Forge label is being eliminated. While Riot will still publish the nearly-finished Bandle Tale, no further Riot Forge games are planned. It marks the end of an era as Riot winds down support for one of its major initiatives over the past few years.
For laid-off employees, Riot has set up a severance package including at least six months’ salary. The company also aims to provide job placement support and extended health benefits.
Monday’s news serves as the latest sign that the gaming industry is experiencing growing pains amidst economic uncertainty. Both Unity and Amazon’s Twitch initiated major layoffs last year for similar reasons. With recession fears looming, more companies seem to be battening down the hatches and tightening budgets. For Riot, only time will tell whether this contraction pays off by renewing focus on the games that rocketed them to
