Riot Games CEO Nicolo Laurent announced layoffs of around 530 employees, representing 11% of the company’s global workforce. This difficult decision was made to shift Riot’s focus and make the company more financially sustainable after significant investments in new games and experiences failed to pay off as expected, Laurent explained.
“This decision means we’re eliminating about 530 roles globally, which represents around 11% of our workforce, with the biggest impact to teams outside of core development. This also sadly means we’ll be saying goodbye to many talented colleagues and friends across all areas of Riot. “
Laurent took accountability as CEO for Riot overextending itself in recent years as it grew into a multi-game, multi-experience company, nearly doubling in size since 2019. Attempts were made to alter trajectory by reducing hiring and costs, but Laurent laid out more significant changes were still needed. The layoffs center on non-core development teams.
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Severance packages were offered, including a minimum 6 months salary, health insurance continuation, bonus pay, and other transition support like job placement services. Laurent stressed treating impacted employees with respect and grace during this difficult time.
Today, we’re a company without a sharp enough focus, and simply put, we have too many things underway. Some of the significant investments we’ve made aren’t paying off the way we expected them to. Our costs have grown to the point where they’re unsustainable, and we’ve left ourselves with no room for experimentation or failure – which is vital to a creative company like ours. All of this puts the core of our business at risk.
Laurent reiterated Riot’s commitment to League of Legends, VALORANT, Teamfight Tactics, Wild Rift, and R&D exploration. Some teams will be reshaped for more effective development. Riot will also continue investing in esports and entertainment around its games.
However, Riot is making adjustments to some R&D efforts and rethinking enterprise support levels, according to Laurent. Additionally, Legends of Runeterra will see team size reductions and a shift in focus to its Path of Champions PvE mode as the game hasn’t been financially viable. Riot Forge will also be sunset after one more release.
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But as I’ve dug in with leaders across Riot, it’s become clear to all of us that these changes aren’t enough. We have to do more to focus our business and center our efforts on the things that drive the most player value – the things that are truly worth players’ time. Unfortunately, this involves making changes in the area where we invest the most — our headcount.
I want to be super clear about something: this is absolutely the last thing we ever wanted to do. A decision like this has a massive impact on people’s lives and on the culture of Riot. We’re not doing this to appease shareholders or to hit some quarterly earnings number – we’ve made this decision because it’s a necessity. It’s what we need to do in order to maintain a long-term focus for players.
Laurent apologized to departing Rioters and thanked them for their service and dedication. He recognized uncertainty created for remaining staff but assured Riot’s ambitions remain strong to emerge stronger and more focused on players. Oh and to maybe save some of the ESG money to pay out the “headcount”, fair and square.
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