Riot jumps on layoff bandwagon, drops half of 2XKO team due to lack of “momentum”

After only a month since 2XKO’s release, Riot has laid off 80 employees from the 2XKO team. Executive Tom Cannon laid out his reasoning in a prepared statement. 

“After a lot of discussion and reflection, we are reducing the size of the 2XKO team,” began Cannon.

“The game has resonated with a passionate core audience, but overall momentum hasn’t reached the level needed to support a team of this size long term,” he continued,

“[Riot is] committed to supporting impacted Rioters through this transition – including helping them explore opportunities within Riot where possible, and providing a minimum of 6 months of notice pay and severance where it’s not.”

While it seems that Riot will move some of those affected to other projects, there are already many LinkedIn posts circulating that confirm a significant number of full-on layoffs.

Digital nihilism 

This news follows multiple other reported layoffs in recent weeks from companies such as Ubisoft, Sumo, and Meta. This trend is indicative of dire conditions within the current games industry landscape. 

Though in Riot’s case, perhaps some of this can be explained by its seemingly ropey approach to project management. The game 2XKO began development in 2019, meaning it endured a 7-year development cycle and likely cost Riot a significant sum to develop. 

This is but one example in a pattern of projects to undergo lengthy developments or investments only to be scrapped and result in numerous layoffs. In 2024, Riot cancelled its development of a smash-style platform fighter codename ‘pool party’, reduced staff on Legends of Runeterra, and closed down its single-player development house. 

There is also Riot’s acquisition of Hypixel Studios in 2020, a success that executives like Chief Financial Officer Mark Sottosani are quick to brag about in their company bio. Hypixel’s time under the Riot umbrella saw its big project, sandbox RPG Hytale, shut down due to lengthy development. 

However, in a positive turn of events, Hytale’s original developments have revived the project.

Riot has a trend of management woes that seem to be almost entirely unrelated to the developers. This makes it even more saddening to see developers laid off while those who likely guided the game in an untenable direction kept their jobs.