What’s Is the League of Legends Anime All About?
Riot Games first announced Arcane two years ago in 2019, as part of their 10th-year celebration of League of Legends. However, a year later, Riot Games would announce that Arcane’s premiere date will be delayed indefinitely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, while League of Legends definitely has a reason to feel excited about the premiere of Arcane, not much is known about the anime at the moment. So far, audiences only have two things to go on: the teaser from Netflix and the basic premise of the anime following the origin story of two of League of Legends’ most iconic champions, which many believe pertains to Vi and Jinx. But, one thing we are sure of is that this is all part of Riot Games’ intention to market League of Legends beyond just being a MOBA. So far, Riot Games has made a tremendous amount of effort to expand the League of Legends brand. In addition to the anime, there are comic books, a digital card game, a mobile game, and even a board game, all based on League of Legends. Riot Games is even planning on establishing its own MCU-like cinematic universe. But while this isn’t Riot Games’ first time to expand on the League of Legends franchise, it marks the studio’s first time to go into television. Wisely enough, Riot Games tapped one of their longtime partners, Fortiche Productions, to help in the development and production of Arcane. The anime is also set to premiere on Tencent Video in China as part of Riot Games’ deal with Tencent. With that said, it isn’t just Riot Games who stands to benefit from Arcane’s premiere. The League of Legends anime also fits into Netflix’s growing portfolio of animated shows. The streaming giant’s penchant of tapping video games for new movies and shows has seen it pick up the likes of League of Legends rival, Dota 2, Tomb Raider, Castlevania, as well as Resident Evil, Cuphead, Assassin’s Creed, and of course, The Witcher.
