The bosses of Riot Games want to manage less LoL and focus more on creating games. They want to give meaning to the “s” in Riot Games. What lies ahead for us?
Riot Games, the developers of the popular MOBA League of Legends, have achieved a lot in the last 11 years. From a small developer studio, they have grown into a video game development company employing over 2500 “Rioters” at 20 locations around the world.
Now the founding members want to make games again and are stepping back from their management roles. Big plans for Riot Games?
Back to Game Development
After Riot Games has grown enormously in recent years, founders Brandon “Ryze” Beck and Marc “Tryndamere” Merrill want to make games again. In a post on the official website, they explain that the success of League of Legends and the associated growth of Riot Games had positive effects:
“This growth brought many benefits: Our skills improved, our reach increased, and we were able to bring League of Legends and eSports closer to more players than ever before.”
The success also forced the founders to step into a certain role.
“But the growth also meant that we had to spend a large part of our time managing the company. We couldn’t focus on creating amazing experiences for gamers. Although that is what we love.”
To devote themselves back to this passion, they are leaving important roles to long-time employees Dylan Jadeja (Chief Financial Officer), Scott Gelb (Chief Technology Officer), and Nicolo Laurent (President). They themselves want to focus on designing games again.
Merrill and Beck have great faith in their team’s abilities and are excited to finally give meaning to the “s” in Riot Games and not have LoL as the only showcase of the company.
What Game is Next from Riot Games?
In recent years, the folks at Riot Games have learned a lot from League of Legends. We could see this as players through countless balance changes and numerous new game contents like champions, maps, or game modes.
Experience in multiplayer games with co-op factors and various strategies is present within the Riot team. The developers have also gained deep insights into esports and how to manage a gigantic community.
The foundation for interesting new games from Riot Games is therefore laid.
Which genre from the hands of the LoL bosses would you be excited about? An action RPG like Path of Exile or Diablo? Perhaps an MMO like Guild Wars 2?
