Another piece of bad news just hit workers in the video game industry, when Riot Games announced that it will lay off 530 employees, or about 11% of its workforce. They are also the latest faces to “follow” the industry’s sad trend since 2023, including layoffs, studio closures, and project cancellations.
Founded in 2006, Riot Games is the developer behind two famous games namely League of Legends and Valorant. Its subsidiary, Riot Forge, has also released several games set in the League of Legends universe, such as Ruined King and Song of Nunu. However, this newly announced round of layoffs will reshape both Riot Games and the company’s future.
First announced in a public letter on the company’s official website, CEO A. Dylan Jadeja announced that Riot Games will lay off 11% of its employees, putting 530 people out of work and Riot Forge must close. Jadeja stated that Riot has become unsustainable, noting that some “big bet” was unsuccessful. The letter highlighted increasing costs and a failure to enhance player value as the main reasons for the dismissal.
Jadeja also emphasized that workforce reductions are necessary and not simply a tactic to please shareholders. Employees across the company will begin receiving termination emails, with the first round of layoffs starting today and the layoffs likely to wrap up in the coming weeks. The CEO assured fans that titles from Riot Games will not be affected, although some teams developing Legends of Runeterra will have to change sizes.
“Lately, we’ve become a company that doesn’t have a sharp enough focus and, simply put, we’re doing too much at once. Some of the key investments we have made have not yielded the expected results… Unfortunately, this involves making changes in the areas where we invest the most – our number of employees.“
– A. Dylan Jadeja, CEO of Riot Games
This latest round of layoffs by Riot Games marks another downsizing move by a AAA game studio. Last year we saw dozens of big names in the industry lay off hundreds of employees, with companies like Ubisoft, Bungie, Embracer Group, Epic Games and Unity making massive cuts. The community continues to question the future of the industry, as CEOs frequently note that a lack of sustainability is behind cost-cutting measures. Some have raised concerns around the potential impact on consumers, as the scope of the layoffs remains unclear. As Riot and other organizations look to restructure and pivot, many fans are tired of the continued layoffs in the industry.
With Bandle Tale: A League of Legends The recently released game has now become Riot Forge’s final product, and the CEO of Riot Games wants fans to remain optimistic about the future of the company and its products. How about you? Can you believe the words of Riot CEO and still maintain the above optimism? Please share with us at:
