2023 has been an annus terribilis for employment in the gaming industry, but 2024 isn't starting any better. Riot Games, developer of League of Legends, Valorant, and more, has announced a large number of layoffs.
To be specific, the company plans to eliminate about 530 roles globally, which represents roughly 11% of its workforce.
This was announced via a letter to employees signed by CEO Dylan Jadeja and delivered today.
According to Jadeja, the company lacks a "sharp focus" and has too many things underway, with some significant investments that haven't paid off as expected. Costs have become unsustainable, and there is no room for experimentation, putting Riot's core business at risk.
Over several months, company leadership has tried to alter this trajectory in several ways including slowing down or even freezing hiring, but this ended up not being enough.
While Jadeja admits that there's "no perfect way to do a layoff," he pledges to treat laid-off employees "with respect and grace" and apologizes for the decision. Employees impacted with receive a severance package including 6 months of salary in the form of severance pay, cash bonuses, and more benefits.
In terms of the company's portfolio of games, Riot Games will focus on League of Legends, Valorant, Teamfight Tactics, Wild Rift, and research and development. It will also remain committed to eSports and to supporting its games via entertainment.
We also hear that the fighting game Project L has been making "great progress" and more opportunities for fans to try it will be communicated later this year.
Legends of Runeterra will be refocused, as it has faced financial challenges since launch, costing "significantly more" compared to its earnings. The size of the development team will be reduced and the focus will shift to The Path of Champions.
The Riot Forge brand will cease development after the recently announced Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story. While Riot is proud of the games it generated, it finds itself having to refocus on its internal efforts.
This is just the latest studio to announce layoffs or closures during the past year or so, with companies like Sony, Bungie, Epic Games, Tencent, Microsoft, Amazon, Frontier, Team17, on top of many of Embracer's studios affected to various extents.
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