Riot Games, which is based in Los Angeles but owned by Chinese tech company Tencent, announced on Tuesday a roster of new games and video content that aim to expand the League of Legends universe into new realms of entertainment.
The classic online game, which has generated billions in revenue for Riot and is a linchpin of the esports industry, will now boast an animated miniseries and a Netflix documentary among numerous spin-offs — moves which echo those seen in China in recent months.
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In addition, Riot announced that League of Legends will soon encompass not only the main title but a series of other games in the Legends universe, including a fighting game, a digital card game, a mobile version of LoL, and an LoL-themed esports manager title. The company also unveiled a first-person-shooter in the developmental stages that is not associated with League of Legends.
Meanwhile, mainland Chinese teams are cleaning up at the ongoing League of Legends 2019 World Championship (LoL Worlds). The three Chinese teams in the tournament — FunPlus Phoenix, Royal Never Give Up, and Invictus Gaming — have each won two out of three battles in the first Group Stage round.
Group Stage competitions will continue until October 26, when the Knockout Stage tournament will begin. The LoL Worlds tournament is one of the biggest events in esports, lasts over a month, and consists of five-player teams battling through turrets, minions, super minions, inhibitors, monsters, and champions of the other team in order to destroy the enemy’s nexus.
Invictus were crowned China’s first ever LoL world champions at last year’s competition.
