'Arcane,' the new 'League of Legends' Netflix series, shows Riot Games' 'black licorice' strategy
Riot Games has helped define the modern competitive game, spurring the growth of today's esports through "League of Legends" and solidifying the business model of games as a service.
But with its launch last weekend of an animated series for Netflix, you might assume that the company is following a more conventional narrative — to show the world that a game that stars, in the words of one its staffers, a "magical sci-if gerbil," can play in the grown-up universe of Hollywood.
Maybe.
Rather than simply turning over its intellectual property to established TV pros, Riot went the figure-it-out-yourself route for its new series "Arcane" — entrusting it to staffers with zero experience in the world of network animation.
Why explain games to Hollywood when you can just show Hollywood how it's done?
"Riot," says company co-founder Marc Merrill, "is hard to partner with."
Riot did give the conventional route a try — taking meetings around town with agents and interested studios and distributors for what would eventually become "Arcane." But ultimately, Riot founders Brandon Beck and Merrill made Christian Linke and Alex Yee, two longtime staffers — or, Rioters, in company parlance — co-creators, allowing them to essentially serve as showrunners. Both started at Riot on community-focused customer service teams. Neither had television experience on their resumes.
Merrill says their deep understanding of the company gave them an advantage: "If you don't fully appreciate the journey our players have been on with
