Riot Lays Off 12 Employees

- These layoffs are part of a series of "small team-by-team changes" at Riot Games, according to a company spokesperson. - This recent cut follows a more significant workforce reduction in January 2024, when Riot laid off approximately 530 employees, which was about 11% of its staff at the time. - As part of the January 2024 restructuring, Riot Games also shut down its indie publishing label, Riot Forge, which had been responsible for collaborating with third-party developers on games set in the *League of Legends* universe. - Earlier in February 2026, Riot Games reduced the team size for its fighting game, *2XKO*, stating that the game's momentum had not justified the team's size. Around 80 people, representing about half of the global development team for the game, were laid off. - Between 2023 and the beginning of 2026, Riot Games has laid off over 600 employees in total as part of a broader strategy to refocus on its core titles like *League of Legends* and *Valorant*. - The video game industry as a whole has seen widespread layoffs, with an estimated 45,000 jobs lost between 2022 and mid-2025. - Other major gaming companies, including Electronic Arts and Microsoft Gaming, have also conducted significant layoffs in 2025, canceling projects and closing studios as the industry continues to contract after a period of expansion. - A 2026 GDC survey indicated that 17% of game developers who responded had been laid off in the last year, and two-thirds of those at AAA studios said their company had undergone layoffs.