DraftKings Inc.’s Post

https://lnkd.in/eEq-6KS4 Embracing change with a strategic restructuring to ensure a sustainable future. Tough decisions, but we're committed to delivering high-impact projects for our amazing gaming community! #RiotGames #GamingIndustry #Restructuring #Innovation #Sustainability"

Valuable lesson I learned at Riot from Anthony Leung many years ago. Anthony was rolling out a new work system for League of Legends, or a part of it. There was a ton of data that existed in the old system that needed to be moved into the new system. There wasn't a good way to do this automagically, so moving it involved a manual process (i.e. a ton of data entry). I'd done transitions like this in the past, and I thought I knew what was coming. We'd roll out the new system, then we'd spend days, weeks, maybe even months trying to convince everyone to move their stuff over. It would be frustrating, things would be living in two systems, one of which was decaying while the other remained unpopulated so nothing was right... But hey, that's how it goes, eh? Not from Anthony's perspective. He had a different approach, and one that was counter-intuitive for the most senior operational leader on one of the biggest games in the world. Anthony, recognizing how hard change is, took time out of his day (and night) and manually moved the entire system, copying everything item by item. I don't know if he had some people help him, all I know is when the system was rolled out (and it was a better system than the old one) everything was already there, and at worst a couple of days out of date from where we were. I remember being almost offended by his approach at first. What the heck man!? Your time is more valuable than that! But Anthony knew that the best way to help an org make a big change was to make it as easy as possible. So he did the grunt work to get that obstacle out of the way of everyone else. And I realized later on how brilliant that was, and how much time it saved EVERYBODY - even Anthony! I later applied that lesson when I was leading a major shift. Rather than asking every team across a group of maybe 500 people shift their tickets, and set deadlines, and etc., I blocked out several days and spent the maybe 10-20 hours it took to get everything moved over. It made the transition happen. Had I not done that, we would have been caught in the twilight zone between two systems, both no longer functioning. The work itself was boring. It was tedious. Can't say those were my most engaged days. It also really helped the team. Had I not done that, I don't know if the shift in systems would have worked at all. Thanks for the lesson Anthony! #gameproduction #gamedevelopment #gameindustry #changemanagement

Tencent Holdings' Riot Games plans to lay off 530 employees, or about 11% of its staff globally, the online gaming company said on Monday in a blog that included a letter to employees from CEO Dylan Jadeja. Los Angeles-based Riot, whose popular titles include "League of Legends", said teams outside of core development will see the largest impact from layoffs. Digital games publishers are struggling to grow, as audience hold off on buying expensive titles or stick to fewer games amid high inflation. Early last year, Electronic Arts Inc cut 6% staff and gave up some office space. "Today, we're a company without a sharp enough focus, and simply put, we have too many things underway. Some of the significant investments we've made aren't paying off the way we expected them to. Our costs have grown to the point where they're unsustainable," Jadeja said in the letter. The changes will allow Riot to focus on its portfolio of live games "League of Legends", "Valorant", "Teamfight Tactics", and "Wild Rift", according to a separate blog from Jadeja and co-founder Marc Merrill. Riot will stop new game development under "Riot Forge", and drop some staff and features in "Legends of Runeterra". Tencent, which acquired a majority stake in Riot Games in 2011, also holds stake in fellow US video game developer Epic Games. #starlinkcare

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁? 🚨 The video game industry, a pillar of modern entertainment, is facing an unprecedented crisis that goes far beyond the normal dynamics of corporate restructuring. 2024 began with an 𝘂𝗻𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗼𝗳𝗳𝘀 affecting giants such as Unity Software, Twitch, Riot Games, Microsoft, and many others, with a total of 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟲❟𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗯𝘀. This situation has not only eclipsed the negative records of 2023, but has also raised questions about the 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆, especially that of AAA titles, whose increasingly expensive and risky productions put a strain on finances and employment stability. The contradiction lies in the fact that, in spite of an economically prosperous 2023 for the industry, with revenues reaching around $184 billion, we are witnessing a wave of redundancies that seem to presage a deeper crisis, one that cannot be attributed solely to a 'settling' of the market. To address this crisis, we believe it is essential for the industry to 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹, one that does not depend exclusively on AAA blockbusters, but also values 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀❟ 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀. This could not only help to distribute economic resources more fairly within the industry, but also to offer gamers a richer and more diverse experience. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗞𝗲𝘆𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 🤝 Gamers have immense power in this dynamic, supporting games and platforms that reflect their values of inclusivity and diversity, and choosing to 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹. As Keycense, we are committed to promoting a gaming experience that is 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹, valuing diversity and providing personalised support. We believe that only through a collective effort is it possible to overcome this crisis, reinventing the gaming industry to make it more 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. The crisis in the video game industry is a wake-up call that we cannot afford to ignore. Together, we can build a future for gaming that is as bright as the worlds we love to explore in our favourite games. 💬 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠? #Keycense #GamingInclusive #FutureOfGaming

This week Arrowhead Game Studios, the developer of the popular title Helldivers 2, has experienced unexpected success with the game, leading to persistent matchmaking and login issues. It’s hard to truly know where the challenges in the process lie (likely with matchmaking in PlayFab), but I was most struck by CEO Johan Pilestedt remarks about the situation. 1️⃣ He has praised the studio's backend engineers for preventing the game from completely collapsing under the demand. 2️⃣ He acknowledged the challenges of onboarding new developers. Even if Sony sends devs today, it'll probably be a few days before they're effective. In the meantime onboarding new devs would take current devs away from fixing the issues at hand. 3️⃣ He warned against “over-hiring to then do layoffs,” tipping his hat to the current gaming environment and making an important point about hiring teams that you can keep. I respect Johan's healthy approach to managing his team & their focus in this stressful time. One of the advantages studios get with working with 3rd party platforms that offer white glove support, is that we augment your team in your time of need without having to have the expertise on hand at all times. I’ve got plenty of friends who have gone through these challenges, are there parts that I’m missing? What would you add? #gamedev #launchday #prep

Check out Siddharth's take on the Arrowhead Game Studios launch of #Helldivers2. Scaling strategy is not easy for any live-service game, no matter how big or small the studio. How do you think about this essential gaming topic? #gamedev #building #infra #launchday

Riot Games has confirmed layoffs affecting approximately 11% of its workforce. This decision is part of the company's restructuring efforts to better align with their current and future projects. The move impacts various departments and is a significant development for the company known for popular games like "League of Legends." And “Valorant” For more details on the layoffs and their implications, you can read the full article [here]

📉 Riot Games Announces Major Layoffs and Shutdown of Riot Forge 🎮 In a significant restructuring move, Riot Games has laid off 530 employees and decided to shut down Riot Forge, their publishing label. This decision reflects major changes within the company and the gaming industry at large. It's a moment that underscores the volatility and evolving nature of the gaming world 😞 For more details, read the full article at https://lnkd.in/dtNNJVdt #RiotGames #GamingIndustry #CorporateRestructuring #RiotForgeShutdown #GameDevelopment #IndustryChanges #TechNews #BusinessMoves #GamingCommunity

Spot on! It's not the first time a successful game has faced difficulties managing its multiplayer backend and it will not be last. Every team goes through this challenge at some point in their product. We did too! - You can't hire too many people only to let them go later. - You can't build everything in-house. - You can't allocate all your resources to fixing the issue, as it requires specialized skills. The issue is common across all types of games, whether AAA or casual. You simply can't build and maintain every aspect of the product yourself. It's essential to find someone who can work alongside your team when things go awry. Article: https://lnkd.in/gA-fQ6Yd #gamedev #multiplayer

Riot Games cuts more than 500 jobs - 💼 Riot Games is laying off 530 people, which accounts for about 11 percent of its global workforce. - 🎮 The company is shutting down the Riot Forge publishing label. - 🕹️ Riot Games is refocusing on core live games such as League of Legends, Valorant, Teamfight Tactics, and Wild Rift. - 📺 Season two of its Arcane TV show for Netflix is scheduled for release in November. - 🃏 Legends of Runeterra is being reduced and focused on the PvE game mode. - 📜 The Riot Forge publishing label, which partnered with smaller studios for League-related titles, is also closing down. - 💰 Riot Games is offering severance pay and benefits to affected employees. - 🌐 The layoffs are not driven by investor appeasement but by the need to focus on player value. - 🎮 Riot Forge will release Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story before shutting down. - 📉 The video game industry has seen a trend of layoffs in 2024, with over 3,800 jobs lost in January.