Deadly LA fires lead to office closures for major game studios: 'Nothing can be said to truly acknowledge the pain and suffering that we are witnessing,' says Riot CEO

Firefighters in front of a burning structure during the 2025 Palisades Fire in LA County.

Los Angeles-based game developers are reacting to multiple severe wildfires that overwhelmed LA County firefighters on Tuesday and spread across thousands of acres in the most populous county in the United States, including the Pacific Palisades neighborhood near Santa Monica where Activision Blizzard, Riot Games, and other studios have offices.

"Employee safety and well-being is our top priority," an Activision spokesperson told PC Gamer on Wednesday morning. "We're actively monitoring the situation as it is quickly evolving. We've been in contact with the employees closest to the impacted areas to confirm their safety and provide resources."

"Nothing can be said to truly acknowledge the pain and suffering that we are witnessing unfold in the communities so many of us call home," Riot Games CEO Dylan Jadeja said in a post on LinkedIn on Thursday.

"It's too early for anyone to know exactly what will be needed or what can be done in the aftermath of this," Jadeja wrote later in the post. "The reality is… we are still in the middle of it. But when the time is right, Riot will be ready to stand up for Los Angeles and give back in every way we can to all of these communities that mean so much to who we are."

Along with the 17,000+ acre Palisades Fire, the Hurst Fire in the San Fernando Valley spread across more than 600 acres, and the Eaton Fire encompasses another 10,000+ acres to the east of Burbank, where Insomniac Games is based. On Wednesday evening, a new brush fire started in the Hollywood Hills, named the Sunset Fire, requiring further evacuations.

"Sitting at my office desk in Burbank, which is right next to a balcony, and the wind outside sounds like when you're near the ocean and hear waves crashing against the beach," said Insomniac Games senior writer Nick Folkman in a Bluesky post on Tuesday.

A map from non-profit website Watch Duty shows the rough extent of the fires as of approximately 2 pm Pacific on Thursday, January 9, 2025. The light pink color covering most of the map represents a Red Flag Warning (high fire risk), while darker pink blocks represent evacuation orders. The Palisades fire extends to Malibu toward the west, and on its other side borders Santa Monica (the one region not currently under a red flag warning). The nearby Sunset Fire is in the Hollywood Hills. (Image credit: Watch Duty)

The LA Times reports that at least five people have been killed and over 2,000 buildings destroyed by the fires, which have spread rapidly and erratically due to wind gusts of up to 100 mph.

"We're doing the very best we can," LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone told the paper on Wednesday morning. "But no, we don't have enough fire personnel in LA County between all the departments to handle this." Firefighting support from outside of LA was called in.

A map of the fires and evacuation orders can be found on the Cal Fire website and Watch Duty.