Riot Games Lays Off 46 as Wave of Games Industry Job Cuts Continues

Riot Games has laid off 46 employees amid a continuing wave of mass layoffs across the industry.

The League of Legends developer has confirmed to reporter Jacob Wolf that it has cut the positions, which were largely concentrated in the company’s talent acquisition, recruiting and publishing departments, as well as a few roles in the company. esports and support. Riot employs approximately 4,500 people worldwide.

The Riot Games campus in Los Angeles. Source: Riot Games

In a statement to the Jacob Wolf report, a representative for Riot called the layoffs a “normal course of business.”

Riot Games has implemented strategic changes within a few teams to sharpen our focus in a number of areas. With these changes, some roles have been eliminated, impacting a total of 46 Rioters. It’s part of the normal course of our business: we periodically make changes to our structure and teams based on what we think will allow us to deliver the best content and experiences to players. We never take these decisions lightly and will always start with wanting to retain the Rioters and focus them on our highest priorities. Although this is not always possible, it is our main goal.

Riot further noted that it continues to hire and has over 150 vacancies on its website.

Riot’s layoffs come amid a much larger wave of ongoing tech and media layoffs that continue to impact the gaming industry. Earlier this week, game engine maker Unity laid off more than 200 employees. Yesterday, Microsoft laid off 10,000 employees, including those at The Coalition, 343 Industries and Bethesda, while Amazon laid off 18,000 more. Earlier today, Fandom laid off between 40 and 50 employees, including the editorial staff of Giant Bomb and GameSpot, just months after acquiring the sites.

Rebekah Valentine is a reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.