Riot Games, renowned for “League of Legends,” announces a major industry shakeup with an 11% global workforce reduction. CEO Dylan Jadeja’s strategic move aims to refocus on core titles amid challenges in the gaming landscape.
Tencent Holdings’ Riot Games announced plans to cut 530 employees globally, representing approximately 11% of its staff, according to a blog post on Monday that featured a letter from CEO Dylan Jadeja. Riot, headquartered in Los Angeles and known for popular titles like “League of Legends,” specified that the most significant impact from the layoffs would be felt by teams outside of core development. This move comes as digital game publishers, facing a hesitant audience amid high inflation, struggle to expand, with Electronic Arts Inc. making a similar 6% staff cut and office space reduction last year.
In his letter, Jadeja acknowledged the company’s lack of focus and pointed out that too many ongoing initiatives were hindering progress. He expressed concerns about investments not meeting expectations and costs becoming unsustainable. The restructuring aims to streamline Riot’s operations, allowing for a renewed focus on its existing live games such as “League of Legends,” “Valorant,” “Teamfight Tactics,” and “Wild Rift,” as outlined in a separate blog by Jadeja and co-founder Marc Merrill.
As part of the changes, Riot will halt new game development under “Riot Forge” and implement staff and feature reductions in “Legends of Runeterra.” Tencent, which acquired a majority stake in Riot Games in 2011, also maintains a stake in the US video game developer Epic Games.
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