Riot Games, Inc. is an American video game developer and esports tournament organizer based in West Los Angeles, California. The company was founded in September 2006 by University of Southern California roommates Brandon Beck and Mark Merrill, as they sought to create a company that continuously improves on an already released game, instead of commencing development on a new one. Riot Games was majority-acquired by Tencent in February 2011 and fully acquired in December 2015. As of May 2018, Riot Games operates 24 offices around the world, in which it employs 2,500 staff members.
Riot Games is best known for League of Legends, a multiplayer online battle arena game and the company's flagship product. The game was first released in October 2009 and subsequently became the game with the highest active player count by 2013. Since 2011, 2013 and 2015, respectively, Riot Games also operates the League of Legends World Championship, Championship Series and Mid-Season Invitational esports tournaments for their game.
Description
- Riot Games Story
"We launched Riot Games in 2006 to develop, publish, and support games made by players, for players. In 2009, we released our debut title, League of Legends. League has gone on to be the most-played PC game in the world and a key driver of the explosive growth of esports. Players are the foundation of our community and it's for them that we continue to evolve the League experience both in and out of game. Founded by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill, and currently under the leadership of CEO Nicolo Laurent, we're headquartered in Los Angeles, California, and have 2,500+ Rioters in 20+ offices worldwide."[1]
- Riot Games Values
- Player Experience First:
- We believe our laser focus on players inspires the most meaningful and lasting game experiences.
- We put players at the center of everything we do. We share a love of games and prioritize play as an important part of our lives.
- We deepen our empathy and understanding by listening, learning and engaging with players around the world.
- Dare to Dream:
- We believe the courage to chase bold ideas will make impossible drams come true for players.
- We make bold, focused bets aimed at advancing the gaming landscape.
- We seek unique perspectives, create room for experimentation, and anticipate failure as part of the journey.
- We work from best practices, value expertise and innovative when there is a better way.
- Thrive Together:
- We believe we are stronger when we respect each other, invest in each other, and succeed as one team.
- We approach every interaction with empathy, sincerity, and respect.
- We cultivate inclusive teams to amplify each Rioter's strengths.
- We hold ourselves to the highest standard of professionalism and together we embrace the joy of making games.
- Execute With Excellence:
- We believe operational excellence will unlock us to deliver better experiences for the long run.
- We set ambitious goals, measure ourselves against results, and continually iterate towards improvement.
- We collaborate across teams to deliver holistic experiences to players and Rioters.
- We focus where it matters, prioritize efficiency, and spend player resources as our own.
- Stay Hungry; Stay Humble:
- We believe there is always more to learn from each other, from players, and from the world.
- We approach each problem with optimism, ambition, and curiosity.
- We celebrate our wins, learn from our failures, and challenge ourselves to evolve.
- We recognize our teams, our families, our industry peers, and our players who make this all possible.
Structure
A Company at roughly 2500+ employees,[2] many of Riot Games developers and publishers are split into various teams in order to improve the quality of their products.
- Leadership: Overall management of Riot Games as well as having the final say on the direction the company will take.
- Corporate: Looking at the future of the company's financial situation and to make sure it is financially successful.
- Production: Making sure everything is done on schedule as well as planning ahead in areas such as company resources, requirements, and probable situations.
- Operations: Overseeing day-to-day activity in the company, making sure each department is running smoothly.
- Engineering: Creating and maintaining the systems needed to run the company, as well as developing additional features for the game.
- Art: Creative activities within and outside the game, such as artwork for maps, champions, as well as alternative skins.
- Design: Creating, planning, and designing new content for the game.
- Community: Creating a centralized information hub for their players, keeping them informed about their services, news, and events.
- Quality Assurance: Making sure the game is working correctly and that players are provided adequate game-related services.
- Customer Service: Helping customers on a regular basis by answering their questions and assisting them with any inquiries they may have.
- User Interface: Creating an easy, efficient, and enjoyable human-machine interaction such that it produces the desired results.
- Marketing: Advertising the game and making it appealing for customers by way of creating ads, setting up tournaments, and speaking directly to potential players.
- Business Development: Identifying ways to make the company grow, such as finding new potential regions as well as opening distribution channels to those areas.
Company Offices
Riot Games HQ is based in West LA (12333 W Olympic Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90064 (424) 231-1111, United States), previous HQ was in Santa Monica (CA 90404, United States) close to their new location. Also, Riot has 24 offices across the globe. Their international teams ensure that player experiences aren't lost in translation - no matter where your desk is, you're still a Rioter.
The Current Offices are in:
- Barcelona, Spain (Kingdom of Spain).
- Berlin, Germany (Federal Republic of Germany).
- Dubai, UAE (United Arab Emirates).
- Dublin, Ireland (Republic of Ireland).
- Hong Kong, China (People's Republic of China).
- Istanbul, Turkey (Republic of Turkey).
- London, UK (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland).
- Los Angeles, USA (United States of America).
- Mexico City, Mexico (United Mexican States).
- Moscow, Russia (Russian Federation).
- New Delhi, India (Republic of India).
- Paris, France (French Republic).
- SF Bay Area, USA (United States of America).
- Saint Louis, USA (United States of America).
- Santiago, Chile (Republic of Chile).
- São Paulo, Brazil (Federative Republic of Brazil).
- Seoul, Korea (Republic of Korea).
- Shanghai, China (People's Republic of China).
- Singapore (Republic of Singapore).
- Sydney, Australia (Commonwealth of Australia).
- Tokyo, Japan (State of Japan).
- Other locations.
Engineering Tech Blog
- Source link for the news.
Riot Games has launched a new engineering tech blog focused on in depth articles on recent projects, ranging from creating a new missile system to building a merch store that can handle LoL's audience.
Several articles are:
- The Riot Games Engineering Tech Blog
- Compressing Skeletal Animation Data
- Behind League's New Missile System
- Building a Merchandise Store for Riot Games
- Chat Service Architecture: Protocol
Awards
- 51 Fortune's 100 Best Workplaces for Millennials - FORTUNE (2016)
- 14 Fortune's 50 Best Workplaces for Flexibility - FORTUNE (2016)
- 39 Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For List - FORTUNE (2016)
- 18 Glassdoor's Best Places to Work - Glassdoor (2016)
- 19 Fortune's 50 Best Workplaces for Camaraderie - FORTUNE (2015)
- 21 Fortune's 100 Best Workplaces for Millennials - FORTUNE (2015)
- #13 Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For List - FORTUNE (2015)
- Pioneer Award (Co-founders Brandon Beck & Marc Merrill) -
Game Developers Choice Awards (2014) - #3 Best Medium-Sized Companies to Work For - FORTUNE (2013)
- #4 Top 25 Tech Companies to Work at in 2013, as Ranked by Their Own Staff - Business Insider (2013)
- Top 30 Developers of All Time - Game Developer Magazine and Gamasutra (2013)
- Best Community Activation - Gaming Marketing Award (2013)
- Top 10 Developers - Edge Developer Awards (2013)
- Top 10 Persons of the Year 2012 (Co-founders Brandon Beck & Marc Merrill) - GamesIndustry International (2012)
- 30 Under 30 (Co-founder Brandon Beck) - Forbes (2011)
- Entrepreneurs of the Year (Co-founders Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill) - Ernst & Young (2011)
- Top 30 Developers - Game Developer Magazine (2010)
- The Game Developer 50 (VP of Design Tom Cadwell) - Gamasutra.com (2010)
- The Digital 100: The World's Most Valuable Startups - Business Insider (2010)
The S in Games
Trivia
- Riot's LA office is organised by regions. The Champion team are in Shurima and their meeting rooms are named after champions such as , , . The Freljord is in an upstairs area that is always too cold and the Shadow Isles is sort of below it.[3]
Media
See Also