Riot Games has confirmed that it has laid off 46 staff members as it chooses to “sharpen [its] focus” starting in 2023. The company develops the hit MOBA game, League of Legends, as well as the rising star shooter Valorant.
A January 19 tweet from esports reporter Jacob Wolf claimed that “Riot Games is doing layoffs, which started earlier today.” [January 19]several people have told me.
“The size and scope is unclear at this time, so far I have heard of the effects on recruiting and HR, support and esports. I will do more reports in the morning for the bulletin.”
This was followed by a commentary acknowledging that “historically, Riot hasn’t made many reductions in strength in the past, but it is in line with a broader trend in technology, gaming and entertainment as economic difficulties begin to affect many corporations.”
PCGamesN reached out to Riot to ask if Wolf’s statements were correct or not, and external communications lead Brian Chui confirmed that the company has laid off 46 staff members.
“Riot Games has implemented strategic changes within some teams to sharpen our focus in various areas. With these changes, certain roles were removed, impacting a total of 46 Rioters.
“This is part of the normal course of our business,” he continues. “We periodically make changes to our structure and teams based on what we believe will allow us to deliver the best content and player experiences.
“We never make these decisions lightly and will always start with a desire to retain Rioters and focus them on our top priorities. While that is not always possible, it is our primary goal.” This comes in the wake of tech giant Microsoft which has reportedly laid off thousands of employees.
Riot Games notes that it currently advertises over 150 different roles on its official website, as the multiplayer gaming giant continues to expand the League of Legends and Valorant universes.
via: www.pcgamesn.com