League of Legends has permeated through the very core of gaming and streaming content to become one of the most popular MOBA franchises, and now it appears that Riot Games, League of Legends' developer, is setting its sights on different forms of entertainment. With two new positions advertised on their website, Riot Games looks to be preparing to take its gaming franchises onto television and movie screens everywhere.
The jobs listed include a "Global Head of Live Action Film," as well as a "Global Head of Live Action TV." The listings describe each position as ones that will develop and implement strategies to put Riot Games' IPs onto the selected medium. The job descriptions also mention that these positions will specifically push forward the development of League of Legends content for each position.
Riot Games is not the first to attempt to port a video game title into non-interactive entertainment. Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter are classic examples of video games making their way to the big screen, whereas Castlevania and DOTA have made their way to Netflix in anime form more recently. In comparison, Riot Games is looking to imitate the former rather than the latter with greater success.
While League of Legends continues to be a dominating presence on both Twitch and the esports arena, Riot Games has been looking to expand its intellectual property in any way possible. Team Fight Tactics was a welcome addition to fans of the game, as well as the announcement of an upcoming League of Legends MMORPG based on the same world. The progression to television and film is set to expand the world of Runeterra even further.
Moving to different mediums is not always beneficial for video game titles. While Castlevania on Netflix has been universally praised, its MOBA counterpart DOTA has come back with mixed reviews. Riot Games' apparent move for live action is also intriguing as this can instill memories of the film versions for World of Warcraft and Resident Evil. Games moving to the big screen have yet to find consistent success in both financial and critical terms. Riot Games will look to break that cycle for both areas.
While it's unclear as to where the development for the television and movies series will go, fans of League of Legends are in no short supply of content. With the MOBA, the auto-battler, the upcoming MMORPG, as well as the KPop group K/DA, there remains plenty to satiate the hunger for content. While the job listings are still up on Riot Games' site, there is a definite buzz around League of Legends becoming the next big film and television series.
League of Legends is available now on Mac, Mobile, and PC.
Source: Riot Games