League of Legends video game publisher Riot Games laid off 11% of its workforce

This new layoff mainly concerns its branch dedicated to independent projects.

Like many companies around the world, particularly in the new technology and video game sectors, Riot Games, a publisher of successful video games League of LegendsLayoffs are not escapes.

The publisher, owned by Chinese giant Tencent, announced it had been forced to let 530 people go. The fault, according to him, is “expenses that have become unsustainable” and a large number of projects in development.

Because until a few years ago, Riot Games was only known for one game, the globally successful competitive title, League of Legends

. Although he sought to diversify by multiplying publications and genres, he always remained within the universe of his franchise, the world of Runeterra. We thus saw the advent of the card game, a competitor Hearthstone from the snow, Legends of RuneterraAlso an online shooter based on flowerbeds Counter Strike, ShauryaBut also a host of smaller, more confidential productions.

The end of Riot Forge

Not all of them were successful, and despite being handed over to an independent studio, Riot Games only published and distributed the game, clearly costing the publisher. In a press release, the company cited “significant investments that have not yielded as much return as we had hoped.”

Even if Riot Games’ health isn’t in danger, that doesn’t mean all is well. Its parent company, Tencent, has likely tightened the screws, and is now asking for a bit more restraint.

As a result, the 530 layoffs will primarily concern the Riot Forge label dedicated to these additional video games in the Runeterra universe, which will also be phased out, once Bendall’s Tale: A League of Legends Story Launched – It is scheduled for February 21, 2024. card game, Legends of Runeterrabut is affected and its development should be seen to slow down.

Finally, we know that Riot Games is developing a multiplayer online game, an MMO, which does not have a name yet, and on this side, the publisher does not say anything, but explains that he will hold a meeting where he will unveil his plans. 2024 during the month of February.

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