Key things
- Riot Games has laid off 27 PC League of Legends developers and 5 publishing staff.
- The layoffs are part of the company's long-term strategy to maintain the quality of its games in the future.
- Laid-off employees will receive severance pay, bonuses and help with job placement.
In another devastating blow to video game employees and the gaming industry, Riot Games announced that it would lay off 27 employees League of Legends PC development team and another five workers from the publishing sector, the second round of layoffs by the company this year. Founded in 2006 by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill, Riot Games is behind popular titles. League of Legends and Valiant.
In January 2024, Riot Games announced that they were making layoffs, resulting in an 11% reduction in staff. The unfortunate downsizing resulted in the layoff of 530 employees as well as the closure of the publishing label Riot Forge, which was behind games such as The Ruined King and Nunu's song. Riot Games CEO A. Dylan Jadeja, who has been a member of the top executive team for more than a decade, said at the time that Riot had become unsustainable due to a series of “big bets” that didn't pay off.
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In a post on social media, Riot Games co-founder Marc Merrill explained that the layoffs are part of a long-term goal to ensure the company has “the right expertise to continue to make League great for the next 15 years and beyond.” Merrill said these The cuts aren't because the company wants to save money, and that Riot Games will stick with its popular game line, giving worried fans some much-needed reassurance from League of Legends PC development team, while the other five were from Riot's publishing division.
Riot Games announces layoffs of 32 employees
Merrill included in the job offer that laid-off employees would be entitled to six months' severance pay, an annual bonus, as well as health insurance and job placement assistance. This latest round of layoffs by Riot Games marks another big cut by the game studio in 2024. At the start of the year, Unity cut its workforce by around 25% after a difficult year due to controversy and a change in CEO.
Mobile video game developer NaturalMotion Games recently faced layoffs, including the closure of its entire UK studio. An estimated 10,000 video game workers lost their jobs in 2023 alone, and another 13,000 in 2024. As companies like Riot Games continue to announce layoffs, it's unclear how long this crippling and depressing trend will last.