Zack “Asmongold”, a well-known Twitch creator, shared his views regarding Riot Games’ recent layoff and the halt on the Forge project during a live stream. For the uninitiated, Riot Forge was a conglomerate of collaborations between the esports tycoon and various other developers to produce games based on IP’s like Runeterra.
The company recently announced a massive downsizing involving 530 jobs, equivalent to 11% of their global workforce. This decision drew significant attention from the gaming community.
In discussing the unsuccessful Riot Forge, Asmongold expressed his belief that the marketing team that decides the pricing structure of the games should face the axe:
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“The individuals who decide on the financials for those games should not be in the company. It was imprudent to market an ultra-premium game to a demographic who usually plays games for free.”
To provide context, other major gaming titles like Valorant, League of Legends, and Teamfight Tactics are all free-to-play, with the option for pay-to-acquire cosmetics.
“The pricing was based on their IP”: Asmongold on why Riot Forge games like Magekeeper financially faltered
Riot Games is an undisputed powerhouse in the esports arena. The studio scored the Publisher of the Year award at the recent 2023 Esports Awards, and its tactical game, Valorant, won the title of Esports Game of the Year.
Recently, the company revealed a surprising decision to layoff 11% of their staff.
The company also announced its plans to terminate the experimental Riot Forge division. This unit has churned out several Runeterra-based games including The Mageseeker and Song of Nunu, with Bandle Tale: A League of Legends slated as the final project.
Asmongold discussed the termination of Riot Forge in detail, highlighting that the inflated pricing of most titles led to their underperformance in the market. He cited the Steam charts for Mageseeker and declared that a $40 price tag was unreasonable:
“These games underperformed due to their misaligned pricing structure. They were costed based on their IP. Mageseeker was a $15 game set in the League of Legends universe, so it was priced at $40. That’s just too much.”
Demonstrating some of his old Mageseeker gameplay, Asmongold commented further:
“The perception of the audience for such a game. What amount would you pay for this? Maybe 15-20 dollars if it is fresh and comparable to Blasphemous. Was this good? Yes, it was. But is it any superior to numerous indie games in the same category? No, it’s comparable at best.”
Asmongold’s fanbase seemed to resonate with his sentiments. Here are some reactions to the clip from YouTube:
In other news, Twitch, the streaming platform owned by Amazon, has also recently conducted layoffs, stirring controversy amongst content creators.