Riot Games, owned by Tencent, is laying off about 530 employees, representing 11% of its workforce. Announce on monday. The League of Legends maker is also winding down its five-year-old publishing suite, Riot Forge.
Riot Games has written two posts about the changes covering those affected employees In one and her players In another. The first included details about a severance package, among other benefits such as access to employment services, counselling, and visa support, as well as new laptops to replace their work computers if they don’t have one. The teams most affected were outside core development.
“There is no escaping the fact that this is a very sad moment,” CEO Dylan Jadeja wrote. “For those who are leaving… I want to reiterate, we are deeply sorry for the impact this has had on you and your family. I cannot thank you enough for everything you have done for Riot, and for your dedication to the players. We are committed to doing everything we can to support you.” At this moment and during this transition period.
The memo to players shared similar sentiments, saying layoffs were inevitable but necessary. “This is not to please shareholders or reach a quarterly profit number, it is a necessity,” Jadeja said.
He also highlighted two areas that will see an “immediate impact” from regulatory changes – Riot Forge and the digital collectible card game Legends of Runeterra.
Riot Forge launched in 2019 to partner with several independent developers to create new League of Legends stories. The publishing company has released five games in total, including Convergence, Hextech Mayhem, The Mageseeker, Ruined King, and Song of Nunu. This year, Riot Forge is set to release a sixth game titled Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story, which contains a story about Yordles. Riot Forge will officially shut down after the game’s release on Nintendo Switch and PC.
Although Legends of Runeterra has not shut down, Jadeja admits that it is not performing as well as the company had hoped. Riot Games will reduce team size and focus on improving the single-player adventure (PvE) mode, Champion Path.
“Some of the big investments we have made are not paying off the way we expected. Our costs have increased to the point where they have become unsustainable, and we have left ourselves no room for experimentation or failure – which is vital for a creative company like ours. All of this showcases the essence of “Our business is at risk.”
Riot Games joins other video game publishers making job cuts, e.g Epic GamesWhich led to the layoff of 830 employees in September. Other companies include Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard And more.