Riot Games, a game developer under Tencent, recently released a press release announcing plans to lay off 530 employees, accounting for approximately 11% of the total workforce.
Riot Games stated that it will provide at least 6 months of severance pay (with additional compensation for long-term employees) and a cash bonus equivalent to 100% of each person’s Annual Performance Bonus (APB) target for 2023, even for those who joined the company recently. Other benefits include:
Health Benefits: In regions where Riot provides medical insurance, departing employees can still enjoy the company’s medical insurance on their last day. Additionally, Riot Games will provide additional assistance for their health benefits (medical, dental, and vision insurance), calculated based on the length of severance pay and rounded up to the nearest month.
Gaming Fund, Health Fund, etc.: Departing employees may have planned expenses in the future, so Riot Games will provide an additional $1000 (or equivalent local currency) to cover these and other types of costs.
Equity: Employees who have received Riot stocks through a one-time RSU (Restricted Stock Unit) allocation can retain these stocks according to their terms. This also applies to other vested equity (such as stock options or cash settlements in certain jurisdictions). If there are future buyback opportunities, Riot Games will allow these former employees to participate. Riot employees holding dual-vested equity, meeting the conditions of the service-based grant component upon exit, can legally exercise their equity when a qualifying liquidity event occurs within the next 12 months.
Computer: If departing employees do not have a personal computer, they can request a laptop from the IT department. Additionally, they can keep existing peripherals such as headphones, mouse, and keyboard.
Career Support: Departing employees will immediately receive 6 months of employment assistance services, including career guidance, networking, resume writing, and editing to help them smoothly transition to new jobs.
Riot Support Program: Departing employees can still access Riot Assistance Program (RAP) 24/7 for three months after leaving Riot, where they can seek assistance from Riot Games-related advisors for emotional, legal, and financial issues. Additionally, enhanced employee assistance programs (including mental health benefits) will be provided in various regions globally, based on information provided by local HR business partners as needed.
Visa Support: For employees holding work visas, Riot Games will provide support for those who need assistance, including transitioning these departing employees to non-work visas if possible. The details will be coordinated by Riot Games’ global mobility team and external immigration consultants.
Riot Email: Riot Games will continue to provide limited-time access to affected employees (specific time may vary by region) to ensure departing employees have time to review and cancel any personal information or accounts associated with Riot email addresses.
Riot Games mentioned that over the past few years, its workforce has more than doubled. Therefore, the company will prioritize the games “League of Legends,” “Wild Rift,” “Teamfight Tactics,” and “League of Legends: Wild Rift” and reduce the team size for “Legends of Runeterra” (as its performance did not meet expectations). Development work on Riot Forge games will also cease after “Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story.”