This is a well-known video game developer, publisher, and organizer of major esports tournaments. Riot Games is based in Los Angeles and has numerous offices in various countries around the world. You can find out more about the company’s history and rapid development at la-future.
History of Foundation
The company’s history began in 2006. Two young men, roommates while studying at the University of Southern California, Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill, were studying business. At the time, they believed that most video game developers were shifting their focus from game to game and were not striving to support and monetize them for the long term.
Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill drew inspiration from Asian video game developers who released games for free. The key was to charge for additional bonuses. The young men sincerely believed in this project, so they raised 1.5 million dollars (family money and capital from “angel investors” who support startups).
Thus, the company was successfully founded in September 2006 in Santa Monica.
Game Developers
The company’s first video game developer was Steve Feak. He was one of the first developers of DotA Allstars, a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) mod. The founders worked on improving League of Legends, and then they proposed an e-commerce-based video game development company to investors. The complete absence of a single-player mode and the free business model in the game were perplexing.
After this, the company received several rounds of funding, with a total amount of 8 million dollars. This also included investments from venture capital firms Benchmark and FirstMark Capital, as well as the Chinese holding company Tencent.
Release of League of Legends
On October 27, 2009, after 6 months of beta testing, the company released the free game League of Legends. This game is abbreviated as League or LoL. It is a multiplayer online battle arena game inspired by Defense of the Ancients, its own map for Warcraft III. The founders sought to develop a separate game in this genre.
After its release, League of Legends is a free game, and it is monetized by purchasing character personalization. It is worth noting that League of Legends is also the world’s largest esports event with an international competitive scene. It consists of several regional leagues. The culmination of the event was the founding of the annual League of Legends World Championship, which is worth discussing separately.
Annual League of Legends World Championship
In 2019, over 100 million viewers tuned in to watch the annual League of Legends World Championship. A peak of 44 million users was recorded during the final. Internal and international events were broadcast on live streaming websites (Twitch, YouTube, Bilibili, and ESPN).
The esports tournament for the multiplayer video game League of Legends takes place in stages in three European cities (in Berlin, Paris, and London) from September 25 to November 2. The 2024 championship broke the 2023 record, as the number of online viewers exceeded 6.9 million people.
The League of Legends World Championship or Worlds is the pinnacle of video game competition. Annually, it concludes the regional league season and brings together 24 teams for a five-week tournament to determine the best team in the world’s largest esports game.
Events develop rapidly. During matches, two teams (with 5 players each) clash on an arena, Summoner’s Rift. Both teams start at their base (Nexus), located at one end of the playing field. They have three different paths to choose from: top, middle, and bottom lines to get to the opponent’s base. And the rest of the map contains the jungle. The main goal of the game is to destroy the opponent’s Nexus. Despite the fact that it sounds simple at first glance, it is not. The game is complicated by the ability to choose one of 160 characters (champions). At the same time, the player has an infinite number of combinations available to try to play as a team.
League of Legends can be compared to a chess game in which all the pieces move in real-time. They fight and gain experience points, collect gold, and respawn. Monsters, minions, turrets, and a lot of twists and turns add extra enjoyment to the gameplay.
Fans adore the Sun Tzu-style game strategy. They can endlessly discuss tactics on community subreddits with millions of members.
Game Development
The founders of Riot Games held an esports tournament for DotA for students of the University of Southern California. They sought to attract new users. This decision turned out to be fateful, as the founders met Jeff Jew. He became the producer of their game League of Legends.
Jeff Jew was well acquainted with DotA, he taught others to play. Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill noticed him and invited him for an interview. After that, he joined Riot Games as an intern. Then the founders brought in two more people: one of the designers, Steve Feak, and Steve Mescon, who managed the support website to help players.
In 2007, a demo version was presented, which unfortunately did not impress investors. However, the business model of a free game with no single-player mode was not tested outside of Asian markets. They decided to fix this, and in 2008, the company reached an agreement with Tencent to oversee the game’s launch in China.
In April 2009, closed beta testing began. At that time, 17 champions were available (initially 20 champions were planned), and before the full release of the game in North America on October 27, 2009, this number doubled. The full name at that time was League of Legends: Clash of Fates, but the company later abandoned the use of such a long name for the game.
Headquarters in Los Angeles
The game League of Legends from Riot Games has come an incredible way. If at first it was a game for teenagers, now it has expanded to the largest esports event in the world. By the way, at one of these grand events, the official anthem of the tournament was sung by two-time Grammy winner Lil Nas X. It was truly epic and exciting, as it took place in the middle of a holographic image of Runeterra, the world where the game takes place. And the performance ended on the palm of a giant virtual version of the game character Azir.
Riot Games was founded to develop, publish and support games focused on players around the world. Developers moved from one game to another, and the team gradually expanded to 4,500 employees in more than 20 offices worldwide. The founders and the Riot Games team do not betray their original goal – to create games for people who sincerely love them.
The company’s headquarters are located in Los Angeles, but the company creates and supports games in offices around the world. You can take a virtual tour of the company and offices online on the company’s website. The campus is located in West Los Angeles and provides plenty of space for work and play. The main headquarters is a place for inspiration, reflection, and passion. This is where Riot Games continues to grow. By the way, the company has a PC Bang, a virtual reality room, a game hall and an area that includes all generations of consoles.
