‘League of Legends’ Developer Announces Staff Layoffs

Shortly after Bandai Namco announced layoffs, League of Legends developer, Riot Games, decided to follow suit. Riot’s co-founder, Marc Merrill, broke the news on X (formerly Twitter). In the statement, Merrill states the League of Legends team is looking at the franchise’s long-term potential.

“As part of these changes, we’ve made the tough decision to eliminate some roles. This isn’t about reducing headcount to save money—it’s about making sure we have the right expertise so that League continues to be great for another 15 years and beyond,” Merrill explains. “While team effectiveness is more important than team size, the League team will eventually be even larger than it is today as we develop the next phase of League.”

Per Game Developer, a spokesperson representing Riot told the outlet that 32 employees were laid off. “Of that number, 27 were active League of Legends developers, and five were from Riot’s publishing division,” the outlet reports.

‘league of legends’ team suffers layoffs

Riot Games kicked off its 2024 with 530 employees being laid off, citing the result of taking big swings with disappointing returns. Understandably, this latest announcement has led to disappointment and anger from fans online.

“‘We’re not slowing down, we’re going faster!’ Corporate talk for ‘cutting costs by laying off hourly employees and overworking people who are salaried that are willing to be *a team player,*’” one X user commented. Interestingly, Merrill’s statements echoed the studio’s reasoning with the year’s earlier layoffs.

“We’re not doing this to appease shareholders or to hit some quarterly earnings number. We’ve made this decision because it’s a necessity. It’s what we need to do in order to maintain a long-term focus for players,” said Riot CEO Dylan Jadeja in a letter to employees during the January layoffs.

Merrill would offer a final clarification beneath his original announcement on X. “While the League team will ultimately be larger after these changes. What matters more than size is having the right team, right priorities, and a sustainable approach to delivering what players need. If we’re solving the wrong problems, more resources won’t fix it. It’s about building smarter and healthier, not just bigger.”