Tencent's Riot Games division cuts 11% of staff to 'create focus'

Company Actions - Riot Games is eliminating 11% of its workforce, approximately 530 jobs, and scaling back its division that publishes games from small developers [1][2] - The company is lowering headcount for its Legends of Runeterra title, which was released in 2020, due to unsustainable development costs [2] - Riot is also pulling back in its Forge division, focusing on ambitious internal projects instead [3] Industry Context - The downsizing at Riot Games follows a trend of job cuts across the media and technology sectors, with companies like Amazon and Google also confirming layoffs in 2024 [2] - Tencent, which owns Riot Games, has faced challenges with revenue growth, experiencing single-digit increases or declines for the past seven quarters [4] - Tencent's co-founder and CEO, Pony Ma, indicated a strategic shift away from less scalable activities and an increase in investments in artificial intelligence [4]