Bloomberg, citing its sources, shared information about the success of the recently completed animated series “Arcane” based on League of Legends from the Riot Games studio.
Image Source: Netflix
Let’s remember that in November it was reported that Riot spent more than $250 million on the creation and advertising of 18 episodes of Arcane (nine in each of the two seasons), which made the project the most expensive animated series in history.
In an interview with Bloomberg, a studio representative confirmed the amount and said that Arcane was successful if “take a look at all our internal indicators”and the second season is “on the path to financial return for us”.
In the run-up to the premiere, Riot did not have a clear plan to recoup expenses spent on the show
According to Riot, the most important thing for it is to attract and retain players in the long term, but Arcane did not cope with this task: the show was unable to convert viewer interest into revenue growth for League of Legends.
The show raised questions even within Riot. Some employees felt that the company would be better off spending its money on League of Legends. Even Tencent (the owner of Riot) between seasons was interested in how Arcane was helping the studio’s gaming business.
The first season of Arcane was a commercial failure for Riot, despite high marks from critics
For the start of the second season, Riot has prepared in-game items based on Arcane: starting in November, users can purchase eight costumes for their favorite characters in the style of the show, costing from $10 to $14.
Riot co-founder Marc Merrill emphasized that the studio did not create Arcane to sell skins, but sold skins to create content like Arcane: “Let me be clear: Arcane was a hit with the players, which means it was a success for us as well.”.
If you notice an error, select it with the mouse and press CTRL+ENTER.
