Riot Games brush off claims Netflix series Arcane wasn’t a success: ‘It crushed for us’
Characters Vi and Caitlyn in Arcane. (Netflix)
Riot Games has responded to a report that labelled Netflix’s adaptation of hit game League of Legends a “financial miss,” saying that the programme was a success from Riot’s point of view.
The two seasons of the series, Arcane, which cost $250 million (more than £198 million) to produce, was praised not only for its captivating story but also its authentic LGBTQ+ storytelling.
However, critical success failed to translate into concrete revenue for the developers, with a report showing that Riot Games recouped just half of what it cost to make.
Bloomberg revealed that Riot Games owner Tencent received $3 million (£2.3 million) per episode, with the organisation spending an additional $3 million to broadcast the show in China.
Riot Games reportedly hoped Arcane’s popularity would boost the number of people playing League of Legends.
Addressing the show’s seeming lack of profitability, Riot Games co-founder Marc Merrill said: “People who look at the world through a short term, transactional, cynical lens, really struggle to understand Riot, with various people trying to claim that high-quality free games won’t work, that esports will never work, that our music was insane, [and] now saying Arcane wasn’t awesome and worth it.
“These people think we make things like Arcane to sell skins, when in reality we sell skins to make things like Arcane. Riot is a mission-driven company where Rioters are constantly striving to make it better to be a player. That is why we have successfully done that over and over again across multiple games and now multiple businesses/mediums.
“To be clear, Arcane crushed for players, and so it crushed for us.”
A spokesman for the company said that while the show itself wasn’t profitable, it added to the business in other ways. “Arcane was a success when we look across all our internal measures… [the second season is] on track to be at least break even for us financially.”
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