Valorant Dev Riot Games Reportedly Laying Off Across Recruiting, HR and Esports Amid Recent Wave of Tech Downsizing

With the fear of recession looming over everyone’s head, it seems like companies, especially in the tech sector, are taking precautions for impending economic downturn with mass layoffs of employees.

Recently, Microsoft announced that it would be letting go 10,000 or 5% of its employees, as the tech giants prepare for a new era with a focus on being more competitive. Along with that, over the past few months, layoffs have taken place at companies like Amazon, Meta, Twitter and more.

And the growing troubles seem to be seeping into the video game industry, as it has been reported that Riot Games has let go off several employees.

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.

— Jacob Wolf (@JacobWolf) January 19, 2023

According to Jacob Wolf, Riot has reportedly laid off employees in the “recruiting & human resources, support and Esports” sector. Wolf further stated that the developers behind games like League of Legends and Valorant have never undergone major workforce changes, and this decision has likely been made in “line with a broader trend in tech, gaming and entertainment as economic hardship begins to affect many corporations.”

At the moment, Riot Games has yet to reveal any details about the layoffs, as fans wonder whether these changes will cause any major issues to future endeavours of the company. With Valorant kicking off a new Esports era of the VCT with the LOCK//IN tournament in Brazil, it will be interesting to see how the competitive scene will change in the near future.

IGN India has contacted Riot for a comment on the matter, and will update this article with its response as soon as we receive it.