ByteDance is not the only one having problems when it comes to digital game publishing: Reuters reports that Riot Games, the developer behind popular titles Valorant and League of Legends, is set to conduct a round of layoffs that will affect 11% of its workforce or around 530 employees globally.
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–ByteDance Looking to Sell Moonton
The majority of employees that will be laid off are those outside of core development of Riot Games’ popular titles. As a result of the layoffs, Riot Games will cease development on Riot Forge and drop some features in Legends of Runeterra.
“Today, we’re a company without a sharp enough focus, and simply put, 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,” Riot Games CEO Dylan Jadeja said in an open letter.
Because of this development, Riot Games will focus on its core titles instead. These include not just Valorant and League of Legends, but also Wild Rift and Teamfight Tactics. For Riot’s major titles, they plan a more holistic approach that includes eSports, music, and entertainment.
Beyond China’s aggressive lockdown on online gaming, major game developers are struggling to grow. Aside from ByteDance’s plans to offload Mobile Legends developer Moonton from their portfolio, Electronic Arts laid off 6% of its staff last year and ceased development for Apex Legends Mobile.
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