Riot Games lays off 46 employees as it makes 'strategic shifts within a few teams'

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Riot said the cuts are "part of our normal course of our business."

Riot Games
(Image credit: Riot Games)

League of Legends studio Riot Games has laid off 46 employees, saying the cuts were made as "strategic shifts within a few teams to sharpen our focus in a number of areas."

"With these shifts, certain roles were eliminated, impacting a total of 46 Rioters," Riot said in a statement sent to PC Gamer. "This is part of our normal course of our business: We periodically make changes to our structure and our teams based on what we believe will allow us to deliver the best content and experiences for players.

"We never make these decisions lightly and will always start from a place of wanting to retain Rioters and have them focus on our highest priorities. While that’s not always possible, it’s our primary goal."

The layoffs, first reported by the Jacob Wolf Report, represent just 1% of Riot's overall workforce, which currently stands at over 4,500 employees in more than 20 offices worldwide. Riot said that most of the layoffs were made in its publishing division, with a small number coming from its recruiting and esports divisions.

Riot also noted that it is still hiring for more than 150 positions at various studios, which might seem a bit odd given that it's simultaneously letting people go. The studio said that while it generally tries to retain and relocate employees, it wasn't possible in this case because of changing "strategic priorities," which leave other, unrelated positions still to be filled.

 

Andy Chalk
Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.