How Does RIOT Games Make Money with League of Legends
The video games industry has grown a lot in the last few years and Riot games is not behind. So, it's really common to find players wondering how a free-to-play game like League of legends makes money in the real world. Don't worry, here we will answer all your questions about the RIOT game's business model, in-game purchases, esports tournaments, and much more. Let's start!
How Does RIOT Games Business Model Works?
There are many ways that RIOT games use to earn money with League of Legends, not in vain, League of Legends is the most played game MOBA currently, with millions of players around the world, so RIOT Games found many ways to monetize this video game, let's see some of them:
In-game purchases
Almost all online games currently have an in-game purchases option, and this is one of the best ways to monetize any free-to-play game and improve the game features, graphics, and much more with that money. Don't get confused, League of legends is not a pay-to-win game, you can just acquire special features by using the in-game purchase option in League of Legends.
The most usual way how RIOT Games business model works with game purchase is with Skins, hextech chests, orbs, game pass, and Riot points. So, usually, RIOT Games exchange Riot points for real-life currency to players, and players can get special in-game features such as epic skins, etc. You can use a spent checker in case you feel you're spending too much money in LoL and don't spend any single cent if not needed.
League of Legends earns billions of dollars per year by selling Riot points to players, even though there are multiple digital commerce payment methods for all countries to not disturb the RIOT Games' entire ecosystem. If you're looking to earn Riot points, take a look at our guide about how to get free RP in LoL.
Social Media Advertising and Sponsorship
League of Legends by Riot games is among the free-to-play titles most watched on the internet currently. Even if League of Legends and RIOT Games doesn't use YouTube Ads for their videos, Riot games earn money by advertising other businesses in their videos such as technology companies and gaming resources.
This is another way that generates billion dollars to RIOT games every year, bring new customers, promote big companies such as Coca Cola and, at the end of the day, makes RIOT Games a great business specializing in making money with its games.
Esports Tournaments and Live Events
Playing video games wouldn't be the same without the competitive scene and the League of Legends world championships is probably one of the biggest gaming events in the world currently. Every year the world championship and esports events generate good profit for League of Legends, bring new players, and make the RIOT Games business model an entire ecosystem profitable and healthy.
League of Legends fans and gamers love the world championship, regional leagues, and esports tournaments just compared to Epic games esports, Activision Blizzard, and counter-strike tournaments in the world. On the other hand, League of Legends has debuted inside the mobile games scene, which is another great source of money for the enterprise but not as big as the PC platform.
Merchandise
If you play League of Legends frequently, you will probably find out LoL merchandise anywhere on the internet. That's because League of Legends merchandise such as books, toys, clothes, and much more are an incredible money source for RIOT Games.
Most games sell official merchandise in live events or promote a gaming event with good results. And, in the case of League of legends, selling merchandise fits really well combined with esports and tournaments. So, RIOT Games knows how to do it very well in terms of profits and takes advantage of being one of the top-viewed games and one of the favorite games of millions of players in the world.
League of Legends generated $1.75 billion in revenue for developer Riot Games in 2020 and it's been increasing every year since then. League of Legends is a game capable of generating high revenue per year, and even if We're very much thinking about how RIOT Games' business model works, they have created a lot of ways to earn money each season with each tournament, new skins, events, advertising, etc.
If you want to learn more about this video game, the competitive scene, and much more about RIOT Games profits, take a look at our guide about how much is League of legends worth. See you at the summoner's rift!
