Riot Gamesinvested $250 million in the creation of Arcane but has not seen significant returns reflected inLeague of Legends’sfigures.
Arcane’s Success Fails to Boost League of Legends
The spectacular finale ofArcane on Netflix, while winning over audiences, served as a grand conclusion to the ambitious animated series.
It stands as a crowning achievement for League of Legends, the game on which the series is based and which may see more characters fromArcaneintroduced in the future.
Plans include developing a new series based onLeague of Legends. However, the success of Arcane has not been as impactful as it may seem at first glance, nor has it significantly boosted the original game.
Bloomberg has revealed that Arcane did not meet the financial expectations Riot Games, creators of League of Legends, had for the project.
Despite its critical success and popularity on Netflix, the game’s revenue results have been disappointing, prompting Riot to reassess its strategy.
Riot Games chose to independently finance and develop Arcane, spending approximately $250 million across two seasons.
This amount includes not only production costs but also an extensive marketing campaign and promotion for awards consideration.
However, the revenue generated by the series fell far short of covering this investment. Netflix and Tencent paid $6 million per episode, but these figures barely covered half the total cost.
The traditional model in the video game industry involves licensing intellectual properties to film studios, transferring financial risk. Riot, however, opted to maintain full control of the project, increasing its financial exposure.
Hook new audiences on League of Legends
One of the main goals of Arcane was to attract new players to League of Legends and generate higher revenue through the sale of digital content. However, this strategy largely failed due to a lack of preparation.
The League of Legends design team didn’t have enough time to create series-related products, such as skins or themed events, that could monetize the interest generated by Arcane.
While there was a temporary spike in the creation of free accounts following the release of the first season, most new players abandoned the game quickly.
This can also be attributed to the high complexity of League of Legends and its competitive community, which can be unwelcoming to newcomers.
These results have led Riot Games to make significant changes to its business approach. In early 2024, the company laid off 11% of its staff, downsizing its entertainment team to focus more on its video games.
Additionally, key executives like Shauna Spenley, president of the entertainment division, and Ken Basin, head of film and television operations, departed from the company.
According to several analysts, these moves reflect Riot’s need to prioritize its core revenue streams rather than diversifying without a clear monetization strategy.
Many employees have pointed out that the resources invested inArcanecould have been used to improve League of Legends, which is facing a gradual decline in its player base.
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