Tencent's Riot Games Announces Layoffs of Approximately 11% of Staff
- tech360.tv
- Jan 24, 2024
- 2 min read
Tencent's Riot Games is set to lay off approximately 11% of its staff, amounting to around 530 employees globally. The layoffs will primarily affect teams outside of core development. The decision comes as digital games publishers face challenges in growing their audience due to consumer spending habits and high inflation.
In a recent blog post, Tencent Holdings' Riot Games revealed its plans to lay off around 530 employees, which accounts for approximately 11% of its global workforce. The announcement was accompanied by a letter from CEO Dylan Jadeja, addressing the reasons behind this decision.
Riot Games, based in Los Angeles and known for its popular titles such as "League of Legends," stated that the impact of the layoffs will be felt primarily by teams outside of core development. This move comes as digital games publishers face challenges in growing their audience, with consumers holding off on purchasing expensive titles or sticking to a smaller selection of games due to high inflation.
Jadeja acknowledged the need for a sharper focus within the company, stating, "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."
The restructuring will enable Riot Games to concentrate on its existing portfolio of live games, including "League of Legends," "Valorant," "Teamfight Tactics," and "Wild Rift." In a separate blog post, Jadeja and co-founder Marc Merrill announced that new game development under "Riot Forge" will be halted, and certain staff and features in "Legends of Runeterra" will be dropped.
Tencent, which acquired a majority stake in Riot Games back in 2011, also holds a stake in another prominent U.S. video game developer, Epic Games.
Tencent's Riot Games is set to lay off approximately 11% of its staff, amounting to around 530 employees globally.
The layoffs will primarily affect teams outside of core development.
The decision comes as digital games publishers face challenges in growing their audience due to consumer spending habits and high inflation.
Source: REUTERS
