It’s THE phenomenon of this end of year, season 2 ofArcane was a monumental hit. Not only did it climb into the top 10 of the most viewed programs at high speed all over the world, but as a bonus, it was highly praised by critics. And we’re not just talking about the press here, since the vast majority of spectators loved it and want more. While other projects are expected, it is time to take stock. And apparently, it’s not as good as hoped based on recent reports.
Arcane is a huge hit, but would not have brought in anything
The very serious Bloomberg indeed reports that the Riot Games and Fortiche series would have cost approximately $250 million. This is not the first time that this figure has been put forward, even if Riot and Fortiche have always kicked in. Even for 18 episodes, that’s a hell of a lot of money and apparently, Riot would not have been there. Netflix is said to have paid $3 million for each episode, to which Tencent added another $3 million to release the series in the Chinese market. In total, the two giants would only cover around $108 million. So less than half.
Riot’s strategy would therefore have been to capitalize on the little things on the side. Goodies and other collectors or even the game League of Legends which, if it had missed the boat a little with season 1, largely made up for it with season 2 with big events and lots of cosmetics. According to Bloomberg, Tencent, which owns Riot Games, began to be interested in the profitability of the project at the end of the first season. We therefore assume that the accounts are not there at all, and after the end of season 2, we still would not be there. Obviously the threshold of profitability should be reached, but we should not hope too much for more profits.
Does it smell bad for the future?
Should we be afraid for the aftermath of Arcane? Maybe, maybe not. Difficult to say yet at this stage. On the one hand, Tencent and Riot’s coffers, more generally, will need to review the color of money to continue to fuel the extended universe of League of Legends and theThe question of profitability could well become a brake on the creative process if supplies are reduced or worse, cut off. As we have seen, heads can roll at Riot Games.
We are not talking about layoffs, which have been numerous in the company lately, but rather about projects since the Riot Forge, supposed to be an incubator for various and varied games, was closed as quickly as it was created, and this, well before all this story around Arcane. On the other hand, difficult to imagine the cancellation of the Arcane sequels for the simple reason that there is incredible potential and the popularity is enormous. It remains a big success, that’s what Marc Merill (Tryndamere), co-founder of Riot Games, says.
Riot Games’ response is frank
On Reddit, Marc Merill responded to the Bloomberg article and more generally to all those who think that Arcane is a bitter failure (yes, there are some).
The man also seems somewhat annoyed by the criticism, especially since this is not the first time that League of Legends has been the victim of it. « People who look at everything from a cynical, transactional, short-term perspective have a really hard time understanding Riot.. This has already been true with those who claimed that very high quality free games could not work, that eSports would never work, etc. And now they’re saying Arcane wasn’t great and wasn’t worth it.” begins Merill before explaining that « these people think we make things like Arcane to sell cosmetics, when we actually sell cosmetics to do things like Arcane ».
For Riot, Arcane is indeed a success
Riot has already hammered home many times, and proven through these actions, that it is a company that almost never rests on its laurels. She tries, falls and gets up, learns and succeeds. On League of Legends, this translates into trials of temporary game modes, which have become definitive game modes, events or regular patches which rely on player feedback and data. Outside of MOBA, these are games, unique experiences that have been tried, some worked, others not. Still others are on the way.
“Riot is a company driven by one mission: to constantly strive to improve the lives of players. This is why we have managed to do this again and again in many games and now in multiple companies/media – games, sports, music and animation. Are we getting everything right? No not at all. But we’re not focused on extracting short-term profits – we’re focused on delivering exceptional value to our audiences over the long term, over and over and over again. » explained Merill. “To be clear, Arcane is a success for the players and is therefore a success for us » he concludes.
League of Legends attracts, but struggles to keep newcomers
Riot is clear, Arcane is a success and he prefers to sweep the numbers stories under the rug. However, this affair raises another problem, that of League of Legends, and Arcane, like its sequels, could pay the price. Based on what Bloomberg reportsRiot’s strategy would consist of relying on its MOBA to make its other projects profitablein any case that was the objective with Arcane. Something which is finally validated by Marc Merill himself when he affirms that Riot sells cosmetics “to do things like Arcane” and not the other way around. However, one does not go without the other in the end. And if Riot did everything to capitalize on this season 2, unfortunately its MOBA has visibly dampened the enthusiasm of new fans.
League of Legends had the right to a real boom during and after the end of season 2 of Arcane, Riot unfortunately failed to retain newcomers. A large majority of new accounts have already stopped being regular. The news comes as the events around Arcane Season 2 have ended on League of Legends. Bloomberg claims that Riot apparently failed to capitalize on the series. New player retention is bad as are skin sales. The reason? They are certainly numerous, but According to player feedback, it is the game itself that would be too steep for beginners.
Arcane sabotaged by League of Legends?
LoL is considered one of the most toxic games The first games, especially in ranked mode, can be truly heartbreaking. Impatient, often irritable teammates (or opponents)… it is unfortunately not uncommon to get attacked by other players. This is neither normal nor pleasant, but unfortunately very common in competitive and ultra-popular games, LoL included. There is also the fact that the game is not easy to learn, although it is much more accessible than DOTA 2 For example.
With more than 150 heroes to knowall of whom have at least 4 skills, dozens and dozens of objects with different effects, not to mention the rules of the game, the progress of a game, etc. Even though Riot has made a lot of effort on this, League of Legends still requires a lot of time to adapt and some difficult parts to endure more than to enjoy. On the other hand, once this milestone is crossed, League of Legends is an exciting game for competitive fans, and terribly addictive.
Source : Reddit, Bloomberg
