The news broke previously that Riot Games, the creator of my second favorite MOBA title, League of Legends, was purchased by Tencent. Now to be 100% clear, Tencent had already owned stock in Riot Games, only now they’ve purchased enough shares to have the controlling interest of the company. And even though the name Tencent may not ring a lot of bells for many North American based games, it’s worth pointing out that not only do they now own Riot Games, but they also have a huge investment of stock in several other well known companies such as Blizzard-Activision and even Epic Games. Didn’t know that, did you?
However we’re not here to talk about who owns what, no. Instead I’m here to point out to gamers that this move isn’t actually a bad deal and will go a long way into supporting not only Riot Games but also helping them as far as their infrastructure goes as well as given them a much needed boost and can use that to hire even more Rioters (staffing) and even go as far as doing what Blizzard does for their games and have their own event. It’s not news that League of Legend is a vastly popular MOBA, however when sizing up companies and comparing them to Blizzard, there’s a huge difference there and now with Tencent providing even more backing, well things could to start changing more so. Prior to the announcement, Riot Games had already mentioned that huge changes were coming to League of Legends in the form of a revamped web client, new game-play mechanics, though I’m sure this deal was already on the table around then these plans were made.
We’re also already seeing some actions of this as Riot Games as also announced that there are changes in regards to the internal workings of the company by moving away from their previous incentive program, as well as compensation, PTO, 401k and other various perks that they offer their staffing. In fact, Riot Games made the list of the 100 best companies to work for in 2015 and that’s no small feat and now I get the feeling that this trend will continue on with this new structing.
And in regards to doing something similar to Blizzcon, I know that many people at Riot Games have wanted to do this for a while, my subtle hints, speaking with them in online forums and even talking with them directly. Back during PAX East 2014, when the stage wasn’t being mobbed, I had a chance to speak to several members of Riot Games who all expressed the same interest in putting on an event that allows them to give thanks to all the gamers that have helped make League of Legends the game that it is today. And I’m pretty sure that many Rioters feel the same, so I expect it’s only a matter of time before we see this happen and I for one can’t wait.
So no, I don’t think that having Tencent owning Riot Games is a bad thing. Companies do this for a reason and for the most part, it’s to do something for the greater good, make even more money on their investment and increase their view in the public (and shareholders) eyes.
The future looks damned bright for Riot Games and I couldn’t be more happier for them.
