Riot Games is cutting jobs at its League of Legends team. Mark Merrill, the studio’s co-founder, co-chairman and chief product officer, today announced layoffs at X. “This is not about cutting staff to save money, it’s about making sure we have the right expertise to ensure the league continues to operate.” We’re in great shape for another 15 years and beyond. Please stay,” Merrill said. A Riot Games representative told Engadget that the move will result in 32 job cuts across the company.
The problem seems to be that the developers are trying to change priorities behind the scenes, especially with Merrill insisting that “we’re not going to slow down the development of the games you love,” and that the team “ultimately… We will develop the next phase of the league because we believe it will be even bigger than it is now. ” He did not provide further details on what that new focus would be or which sectors would bear the brunt of the cuts.
This is a bold move for Riot, especially since League of Legends is in the midst of a high-profile world championship. We have received confirmation that esports teams will not be affected by the cuts. The company also downsized its operations in early 2024, cutting 11 percent of its global workforce. The move primarily affected “non-core development” employees, so League of Legends teams probably didn’t notice any changes at the time. The company also separately announced in January that it would end the Riot Forge publishing project.
All of these changes point to a bigger picture: a shift and narrowing of Riot’s focus. The company has been experimenting with many new ideas since the breakout success of League of Legends. First-person team shooters, mobile auto chess battlers, fighting games, and animated television shows, to name a few. But Riot’s time for experimentation appears to be coming to an end.
