Riot Games has announced another round of layoffs at the game developer within a year, this time focused on just the team members of its PC MOBA game League of Legends.
— Tryndamere (@MarcMerrill) October 15, 2024
In a post on his X account, Riot Games co-founder Marc Merrill stated that the company has "made changes to our teams and how we work to make sure we can keep improving the League experience now and for the long-term." He added:
As part of these changes, we’ve made the tough decision to eliminate some roles. This isn’t about reducing headcount to save money—it’s about making sure we have the right expertise so that League continues to be great for another 15 years and beyond.
Merrill stated that the laid-off team members would get a severance package that would include six months of pay, an annual bonus, and more. He did not offer any specifics on how many League of Legends team members were affected by these layoffs.
As part of his announcement, Merrill wanted to assure League of Legends players that " not slowing down work on the game you love." He added that eventually with these changes, the development team behind the game will "eventually be even larger than it is today."
In a follow up post, Merrill wrote:
While the League team will ultimately be larger after these changes, what matters more than size is having the right team, right priorities, and a sustainable approach to delivering what players need. If we’re solving the wrong problems, more resources won’t fix it. It’s about building smarter and healthier, not just bigger.
In January, Riot announced that it would lay off 530 team members, or about 11 percent of its total workforce at that time. It also ended its indie publishing label, Riot Forge.