Riot reportedly making wave of layoffs in esports, HR, and other departments

This is a first.

Photo by Colin Young-Wolff via Riot Games

As the layoffs in the tech, gaming, and entertainment industry continue to spread like a virus, it seems Riot Games, for the first time in the company’s history, can’t avoid the layoff wave.

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According to a report from Jacob Wolf on Jan. 18, Riot is making layoffs. The layoffs aim to cut down the number of those working across recruiting, human resources, support, and esports.

Layoffs have been a trend recently in tech, gaming, and the entertainment industry and Riot’s move is by no means a surprise, according to Wolf. “Riot’s historically not made many reductions in force in the past, but it’s in line with a broader trend in tech, gaming and entertainment as economic hardship begins to affect many corporations,” he said.

This comes after Microsoft announced on Jan. 19 it’s laying off 10,000 employees through March 31. Layoffs in the tech world have been on the rise since the end of 2022 with companies like Alphabet, Amazon, and Saleforce cutting down on their manpower thanks to rising prices.

“Rising prices have prompted companies to become more careful about technology spending, hurting prospects for the tech stocks that outperformed other market sectors year after year,” CNBC explains.

There might be some hope left as Riot hasn’t made an official statement confirming the layoffs.

Author
Image of Izabela Tomakic
Izabela Tomakic
Staff Writer & World of Warcraft lead. Izabela has a long history with writing and games like World of Warcraft, League of Legends, Fortnite, and The Sims. Before finding her home at Dot Esports in 2021, Izabela was an English teacher and a freelancer at Hotspawn, GGRecon, and Gameranx. In her free time, you’ll find her writing novels, wandering Azeroth, or inting on Summoner’s Rift.