Asia Tech Wire (Oct 16) -- Riot Games, a developer of popular game League of Legends (LoL) owned by Tencent, has announced its second round of layoffs this year.

Riot Games co-founder Marc Merrill announced on Tuesday that the company will be laying off employees, with the layoffs primarily targeting its League of Legends team.

The layoffs affect a total of 32 employees, including 27 members of the LoL team, with the remaining five coming from its publishing department.

Merrill said in a statement, "This isn't about reducing headcount to save money—it's about making sure we have the right expertise so that League continues to be great for another 15 years and beyond."

"While team effectiveness is more important than team size, the League team will eventually be even larger than it is today as we develop the next phase of League," he said.

For affected employees, the company will offer "a severance package that includes a minimum of six months' pay, annual bonus, job placement assistance, health coverage, and more."

Earlier this year, Riot Games announced plans to lay off 530 employees worldwide, or about 11% of its workforce.

Tencent acquired California-based Riot Games in 2015 and achieved 100% ownership.