Tencent Holdings' Riot games to layoff 11% of its global staff

Tech layoff: Tencent Holdings' subsidiary Riot Games is planning to layoff 11% of its global staff affecting 530 employees. CEO Dylan Jadeja in a blog post informed the employees of the layoff with a letter

Riot Games Layoff Reason

The company stated that teams not directly involved in game development will be most affected by the layoffs. The job cuts come as gamers are hesitating to buy expensive titles or are sticking to fewer games due to high inflation. This trend is seen across the digital gaming industry. Last year, Electronic Arts Inc cut 6% of its staff and reduced office space.

Also Read: Google layoffs: Unhappy over mass layoffs, Google employees plan protests

In the letter Jadeja explained that the investments they had made aren't paying off the way it was expected and that cost have grown.

"We're a company without a sharp enough focus, and we have too many things underway. Some of the significant investments we've made aren't paying off the way we expected them to. Our costs have grown to the point where they're unsustainable", the letter states.

In a blog post Jadeja and co-founder Marc Merrill mentioned that the layoffs will allow Riot to concentrate on its live games portfolio, which includes "League of Legends", "Valorant", "Teamfight Tactics", and "Wild Rift".

The gaming company is also planning to halt new game development under "Riot Forge" and reduce some staff and features in "Legends of Runeterra". Riot Games, based in Los Angeles, is known for popular games like "League of Legends".