Riot Games has announced the closure of Riot Forge alongside layoffs of nearly 530 employees within the company internationally. This stems from a reevaluation from Riot regarding the primary focus on its live service titles and esports scenes, as well as additional projects like Project L and Arcane.
Riot Forge acted as an endeavor from Riot Games that further allowed players to explore the lore of League of Legends in single-player experiences, providing more insight into champion backstories, flushing out important journeys and adventures, and simply learning more about Runeterra in an interactive format. As a publisher, Riot Forge worked with multiple independent studios, each sporting unique styles and approaches to gameplay, ultimately resulting in six titles expanding on the ever-evolving lore of League. That initiative is now ending, alongside more than 500 jobs included in the layoffs.
“It’s been inspiring to see what these devs created in partnership with the Forge team,” wrote Dylan Jadeja and Marc Merrill, CEO and CPO of Riot Games, in the announcement. “We’re proud of what we’ve done together to bring these stories to life, but it’s time to refocus our efforts on the ambitious projects underway internally at Riot.”
The final Riot Forge title, Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story, will be released on Feb. 21 for PC and Nintendo Switch. This game explores the intricacies surrounding Bandle City, home of the Yordles, and the magic that lives among its small furry residents. Compared to previous Riot Forge games, Bandle Tale is a more slice-of-life, cozy game that encourages creativity from players while also providing them with tidbits of lore regarding some of Runeterra’s most mysterious creatures.
All other Riot Forge titles are similarly available for purchase on PC and Nintendo Switch. It is unclear if Riot Games seeks to revive this initiative at some point in the future, but as for now, future single player projects in this vein are not expected to be priorities from the company.
