Riot confirms 46 people have been laid off, labels it as ‘strategic shifts’

The loyal fans of League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics, Legends of Runeterra, and VALORANT learned last night that their favorite game-developing company is laying off people across recruiting, human resources, support, and esports, according to esports reporter Jacob Wolf. And now, Riot Games has given an official statement on the subject.

The company has implemented “strategic shifts” in a handful of teams and eliminated a number of roles, according to a Riot spokesperson. In the process, 46 Rioters were affected by these changes.

“Riot Games implemented strategic shifts within a few teams to sharpen our focus in a number of areas,” a Riot spokesperson said. “With these shifts, certain roles were eliminated, impacting a total of 46 Rioters.”

Since restructuring and refocusing is a normal aspect of each and every business, Riot continued by elaborating that these changes are necessary for maintaining a healthy and functional working environment ready to progress and not stagnate.

“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,” a Riot spokesperson said. “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.”

Riot isn’t the only company making corporate changes early in 2023. Microsoft confirmed yesterday that it will be laying off 10,000 employees through March 31, as well as Alphabet, Amazon, and Saleforce. It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of all these massive layoffs, but many people point fingers at the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and recession.