Riot Games League of Legends Layoffs

Key Takeaways

Riot Games announces further layoffs in 2024, following previous rounds this year and in 2023.
Co-founder Marc Merill emphasizes layoffs are not about cost-saving, but retaining expertise for League of Legends.
Employees affected by layoffs will receive compensation, health insurance, and support in finding new roles.

The League of Legends community often gets called out for being toxic, but 2024 has been a worse year for the developers than the players.

Riot has announced yet another round of layoffs, after letting 530 employees go earlier this year.

Co-founder Marc Merill shared a social media post commenting on the situation.

Merill says the move “isn’t about reducing headcount to save money,” in stark contrast with the January announcement which said the company’s “costs have grown to the point where they’re unsustainable”.

League Of Legends Devs Want To Prioritise Action-Strategy Experiences Over User-Generated Content

League of Legends’ devs at Riot Games don’t want to “pick a fight with Epic” when it comes to UGC.

The number of employees laid off has not been disclosed yet. The announcement by Merill does not mention Valorant, so it is safe to assume the situation affects the League of Legends team specifically.

The announcement emphasizes the intent is to maintain the kind of expertise that Riot Games needs to keep League of Legends “great for another 15 years and beyond.”

We’re investing heavily in solving today’s challenges faster while also building for the future.

-Marc Merill, Riot Games Co-Founder

Employees affected will receive at least six months’ pay, their 2024 annual bonus, health insurance, and assistance in finding a new role elsewhere.

Layoffs Continue As Gaming Industry Grows

league of legends riot games halloween 2024

‘Layoffs’ have been an unfortunately common keyword in gaming and tech news today.

In January 2023, Riot let 46 employees go, making this the third round of layoffs in two years for the Valorant and League of Legends developer.

Concord's creators, Firewalk Studio, is expected to undergo major changes.

Firewalk Studios Waiting In Layoff Limbo After Concord Flop

The entire studio is in disarray after one of the biggest disasters in recent gaming history.

Increasingly growing development costs have pushed smaller developers to a point where a game flopping effectively kills the company.

However, the employees of AAA studios bear the brunt of the layoffs, driven primarily by shortsighted shareholder pressure and poor in-house resource management.

Ubisoft in particular has had a nightmare year so far, with successive management crises and layoffs eventually leading to Assassin’s Creed Shadows missing its 2024 release plans.

The waves of layoffs paint an awkward contrast with the numbers posted by the gaming industry, which has recently surpassed music and film combined.

If the last two rounds of layoffs are any indication, League of Legends should be able to weather the storm, at least until the next wave washes over the industry.