Los Angeles-based game developer Riot Games, one of the giants of the game industry with its worldwide popular games, announced that it has opened a new studio in Shanghai, China.
The developer and publisher of League of Legends, the best game of the MOBA genre, Riot Games’ new studio in Shanghai will focus on the development of new titles that are expected to be released. According to information from Niko Partners, League of Legends is China’s most popular PC game with 325 million players. The fact that the company is so popular in the Chinese market seems to have led to the opening of a new studio in China.
“We are very confident in the market in China”
Leo Lin, Vice President and Head of China at Riot Games, made the following statements:
“At Riot Games, we think about the player first. In China, we have a lot of passionate players for League of Legends and Riot Games. As a result, doubling Riot Games in China and our work not only in esports but also in game development. We want to continue. We are very confident in the market in China and we will be here to serve our players.”
Lin also talked about Riot’s interest in console gaming, making it clear that the company plans to roll out its products to all gamers, both mobile and console. Expressing his confidence in the console side, Lin still suggested that the console may lag behind PC and mobile.
This perspective may change as new titles are released. Rumors that VALORANT will come to the console platform have been circulating for a while, and the company’s long-awaited popular game on the console seems to be getting closer day by day. Riot’s owners, Tencent, focus on console games, but while investments in companies such as Epic Games provide great value in the console market, we can say that the League of Legends publisher’s focus on PC is a more logical strategy for now.
One of the most interesting questions posed to Lin revolved around Riot’s social responsibility in light of recent regulations aimed at preventing gaming addiction, late-night gaming by young users, and even potential eye problems from screen overuse. Lin said they want to work with the community, not only in gaming, but also in esports, and to be able to respond to the dynamic way in which Chinese culture has changed to embrace gaming as a pastime and a career.
Additionally, a “Head of Studio” position appears to be open for Riot Games’ new studio in Shanghai. It is also claimed that Riot Games is seeking 10-15 years of gaming industry experience for this position.
