Riot Games announced yesterday that it had laid off 530 employees, or about 11% of its workforce, from various positions, with the layoffs including departments not specialized in further game development. The company confirmed in its statement that this step was not taken to satisfy investors or achieve financial goals for the next quarter. But it was a necessary step.
The size of the company has doubled in the last few years, and many side projects have been worked on. The company saw that it should focus on what matters to players and affects them in the first place, while reducing investment in less important experiences. The company also decided to close its publishing division, Riot Forge, after the release of the Bandle game. Tale: A League of Legends Story.
