Riot Games announced on Tuesday that it is implementing a new round of layoffs, marking the second instance of such cuts this year. This latest decision will impact the PC development team that works on the highly popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game, League of Legends. The studio stated that these layoffs are part of broader changes intended to foster long-term growth and enhancement of the League franchise. Affected employees will receive severance packages, according to the company.
Riot Games Implements Additional Job Cuts
In its statement, Riot Games emphasized that the layoffs were not a move to cut costs, asserting that the League of Legends team is expected to expand in the future.
“This was a difficult decision to eliminate certain roles. It’s not about reducing headcount for financial reasons—our focus is on ensuring we have the right skill sets in place to keep League thriving for another 15 years and beyond,” said Riot Games co-founder Marc Merrill in a post on X. “While maximizing team effectiveness is more critical than simply increasing team size, we anticipate that the League team will eventually grow larger as we advance into the next phase of League,” he added.
Although Riot did not specify the exact number of employees affected by these layoffs, a spokesperson confirmed to Eurogamer that 32 individuals are impacted, including 27 from the League of Legends team and another five in publishing.
Those laid off will receive a severance package that includes a minimum of six months’ salary, an annual bonus, job placement support, health benefits, and additional assistance, as stated by Merrill.
Merrill also mentioned that the studio is in the process of developing the “next phase” of League of Legends and plans to share more about its ambitious future objectives for the game.
This round of layoffs comes shortly after a significant reduction in workforce earlier this year, when Riot Games let go of 530 employees, or approximately 11 percent of its global staff. The layoffs primarily affected teams outside of core development.
In a letter to staff following the January layoffs, Riot Games CEO Dylan Jadeja stated, “Today, we’re a company without a sharp enough focus. We have too many initiatives underway, and many of our substantial investments haven’t delivered the expected returns. Our costs have reached unsustainable levels.”
