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Riot Games has laid off more than 530 employees in 2024 alone
Along with the latest League of Legends update from Riot Games, we have received word that the company has let go of a second wave of employees in 2024. This unprecedented scale of layoffs follows their largest surge of layoffs back in January, eliminating 11% of their workforce globally. While this second round did not include an accurate count, we do know that the layoffs this time were directed specifically towards their League of Legends division.
“We’ve made the tough decision to eliminate some roles. This isn’t about reducing headcount to save money - it’s about making sure we have the right expertise so that League continues to be great for another 15 years.”
The above quote was lifted from the full statement, released last night by CPO and Co-Chairman Marc Merill. Riot’s CEO was quoted earlier in the year as having stated that this year would see Riot Games deliver their biggest budget ever in 2024. However, 2 consecutive layoffs seems to have sent the opposite message to a large part of the dissenting critics for the games company.
This would also be the year that Riot released some of their most expensive products to date, including the infamous Hall of Legends $500 USD Ahri Faker skin, further adding flame to the criticism.
“(Team) Size and Budget aren’t the right way to measure whether a team will be successful”
Merill clarified that the decision was not made to reduce expenditure, but rather to ensure the ‘right expertise’ for their flagship product. He also cited that “team effectiveness” was the primary goal and that it was “more important than team size”.
In the statement, it assured that the League team would “eventually be even larger than it is today” and that it would come with the development of the “next stage of League”.
Rioters who have been laid off in this latest wave will be reportedly supported with severance packages that includes a minimum of six months’ pay, annual bonus, job placement assistance, health coverage, and more.
We’ve seen small teams at Riot (and elsewhere) build incredible things, while large teams (both at Riot and elsewhere) miss the mark.”
This latest move by Riot comes amidst the seemingly never-ending Esports Winter that has continuously seen layoffs in all parts of the industry. League of Legends is Riot’s flagship and oldest product, and its servers have been in service since 2009. Despite that, it appears not even this goliath would be safe from the approaching winter.
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Image source: Riot Games
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