Latest news with #RiotGames
The Verge
19 hours ago
- Business
- The Verge
Riot turns to sports betting to help fund its esports leagues
As the esports industry searches for new sources of revenue, Riot Games has opened up its League of Legends and Valorant esports leagues to sports betting sponsorships. The decision will permit tier one organizations – or the highest level of professional players – in the North and South America and European esports leagues of Valorant and LoL to secure paid sponsorships from sports betting companies, a previously prohibited category of sponsor. According to Riot, the reason for this change is because it's what the players and esports organizations have been asking for. 'We agreed it was time to open up this category to create more revenue opportunities for teams,' wrote John Needham, president of publishing and esports at Riot Games. There was a time in esports history when sponsorship dollars flowed in, generating lots of revenue for game publishers and enabling organizations to pay players salaries in the millions of dollars. Esports was seen as an investment vehicle, with media corporations and even traditional sports companies investing their dollars in hopes of capitalizing on what was then an untapped but steadily growing market. One of the most famous examples, Activision Blizzard's Overwatch League, sold franchise slots for tens of millions of dollars to investors like New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Comcast. But the comparatively small revenue these leagues generate in conjunction with the high costs to run them, combined with the general economic downturn of the covid-19 pandemic, meant that companies could not get a return on their investments and began pulling their money out. It's forced esports organizations and esports game publishers alike to find new ways to pay players and staff or risk shuttering entirely, as the Overwatch League has. Over the last few years, Riot has changed how its esports leagues have worked to better weather what's being called the 'esports winter' or general contraction of the esports industry. The LoL league ecosystem has gotten smaller, thereby eliminating some teams' financial burden of participating (it costs $10 million dollars to have a slot) while also reducing Riot's financial responsibilities via its revenue sharing agreement with partnered teams. The addition of new categories of sponsors is the company's latest attempt to bring sustainability to its corner of the struggling esports scene. And sports betting companies are well-poised to fill that funding gap. While gambling sites aren't the only game in town if your esport needs money, they are some of the best paying. (Even The Verge is not immune with Vox Media displaying ads for gambling companies on its sites and podcasts.) Stake is an infamously known quantity in the video game streaming ecosystem, throwing eye-watering sums of cash at the most popular streamers to either make content on their own platform (Stake owns livestreaming site and Twitch competitor Kick) or to gamble on stream to their millions of viewers. Until now, Riot has prohibited its esports partner organizations from taking sponsorships from gambling companies. But the publisher says its guidelines can help implement the new type of sponsorship in a 'responsible' way with guidelines for teams and Riot to follow. These guidelines include Riot vetting all potential betting sponsors, teams adhering to an integrity program, and the prohibition of gambling ads on team jerseys or official Riot broadcasts. The formal inclusion of sports betting comes with significant risk to both competitive and moral integrity. Kids and young adults watch these streams, as well as the media around them. While Riot is not letting gambling companies put their logos on jerseys or the official broadcasts, the media around its esport is likely to become even more inundated with offers for gambling. This is what we've already seen with programming and podcasts focused on traditional sports like the NBA and NFL in the years since the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was overturned in 2018. There have also already been allegations of and investigations into match fixing in both League of Legends and Valorant esports, with Riot recently banning two players from Riot competitions for three years. The addition of sports betting sponsorship – which could become a significant if not main source of revenue for many teams – has the potential to exacerbate existing competitive integrity issues as well as open up a potential avenue of harassment for players. With esports revenues still comparatively low, the industry has been getting increasingly desperate for any new sources of funding. Riot has already faced criticism for participating in events funded by Saudi Arabia as a part of the country's longstanding sportswashing strategy. Riot's inclusion of sports betting for League of Legends and Valorant will likely be no less controversial.
Time of India
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
League of Legends LoLdle 1086: June 27 puzzle hints and full answers
Vi in League of Legends I Credits: Riot Games The June 27 edition of LoLdle was filled with classic challenges. The daily quote, 'Shaken, not stirred,' might've thrown many off, but if you know your champion lore, this one points straight to Singed. That line fits the mad chemist's chaotic personality. The rest of today's puzzles were also pretty interesting, and here's how they all played out. Full list of LoLdle answers for June 27, 2025 Classic: Syndra Quote: Singed Ability: Sion – R (Unstoppable Onslaught) Emoji: Jarvan IV Splash Art: Riven (Sentinel Riven skin) So if you were stuck guessing those symbols or powers, now you know. What made today's LoLdle interesting? Syndra returned as the classic pick, while Sion's ultimate ability made its way into the ability puzzle. The emoji was a bit of a trick, but Jarvan IV's icon gave it away with his crown and lance theme. The splash art showed off Sentinel Riven, which is one of her most popular skins. Check out past LoLdle answers June 26: Singed, Heimerdinger, Volibear, Camille, Bard Singed, Heimerdinger, Volibear, Camille, Bard June 25: Janna, Neeko, Aurelion Sol, Kennen, Renekton Janna, Neeko, Aurelion Sol, Kennen, Renekton June 24: Aatrox, Aurelion Sol, Yone, Seraphine, Singed Aatrox, Aurelion Sol, Yone, Seraphine, Singed June 23: Soraka, Rell, Milio, Vi, Vladimir
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Derry gaming company begins 'winding down' process
One of Northern Ireland's highest-profile gaming companies has announced it is winding down its operations. Founded in 2018 in Londonderry, Hypixel Studios first project was to be the block-based fantasy game Hytale. The Derry company was acquired in 2020 by Riot Games, one of the world's biggest game publishers. In a statement, Hypixel co-founder Aaron Donaghey said the company is ending Hytale's development and the winding down of Hypixel Studios is under way. "This is not the outcome any of us - at Hypixel or at Riot – wanted," Mr Donaghey said. "But after years of pushing forward, adapting, and exploring every possible path, it became clear we couldn't bring Hytale to life in a way that truly delivered on its promise," he added. The team of about 100 game developers – the majority of which are internationally based remote workers – will be "supported with generous severance and resources" by parent company Riot Games, Mr Donaghey said. Mr Donaghey said calling time on Hytale "is a painful decision". "We still believe in Hytale," Mr Donaghey said. "But after years of pushing forward, adapting, and exploring every possible path, it became clear we couldn't bring Hytale to life in a way that truly delivered on its promise." A YouTube trailer for the now abandoned game has been watched over 60 million times. He said the Hypixel server on Minecraft – which has had more than 18m visitors - is unaffected by the winding down of the studio. Game development, Mr Donaghey added, is "brutally hard". Professor Kevin Curran from Ulster University's school of computing, told BBC Radio Foyle that the gaming industry globally is seemingly affected by "a post pandemic correction". During Covid-19, he said, there had been a massive boom in "user engagement and revenue for games". "Games are incredibly complex and expensive to develop and can take five to seven years to develop a game. "A lot of gaming companies are restructuring and cutting staff and have been for a good while, " Prof Curran said. How the video games industry is booming in NI NI video games industry lifting off The homecoming call for NI's gaming industry
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Hytale developer Hypixel Studios begins 'winding down'
One of Northern Ireland's highest-profile gaming companies has announced it is winding down its in 2018 in Londonderry, Hypixel Studios first project was to be the block-based fantasy game Derry company was acquired in 2020 by Riot Games, one of the world's biggest game a statement, Hypixel co-founder Aaron Donaghey said the company is ending Hytale's development and the winding down of Hypixel Studios is under way. "This is not the outcome any of us - at Hypixel or at Riot – wanted," Mr Donaghey said."But after years of pushing forward, adapting, and exploring every possible path, it became clear we couldn't bring Hytale to life in a way that truly delivered on its promise," he team of about 100 game developers – the majority of which are internationally based remote workers – will be "supported with generous severance and resources" by parent company Riot Games, Mr Donaghey Donaghey said calling time on Hytale "is a painful decision". "We still believe in Hytale," Mr Donaghey said."But after years of pushing forward, adapting, and exploring every possible path, it became clear we couldn't bring Hytale to life in a way that truly delivered on its promise."A YouTube trailer for the now abandoned game has been watched over 60 million said the Hypixel server on Minecraft – which has had more than 18m visitors - is unaffected by the winding down of the development, Mr Donaghey added, is "brutally hard". 'Complex and expensive' Professor Kevin Curran from Ulster University's school of computing, told BBC Radio Foyle that the gaming industry globally is seemingly affected by "a post pandemic correction".During Covid-19, he said, there had been a massive boom in "user engagement and revenue for games"."Games are incredibly complex and expensive to develop and can take five to seven years to develop a game."A lot of gaming companies are restructuring and cutting staff and have been for a good while, " Prof Curran said.
CNET
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNET
Minecraft Competitor Hytale Shuts Down After a Decade of Development
Hypixel Studios is shutting down development of Hytale, its Minecraft-like sandbox creator game. The studio, a subsidiary of Riot Games, posted a blog post explaining that financial support wasn't enough to buoy the long development time. The game will not be released to the public. Hypixel Studios has long struggled with delivering on the initial vision for Hytale, and Riot Games' investment in the developer couldn't change the fact that the game had a troubled production. A blog post from Hypixel Studios explains that the development team couldn't keep up with the rising bar of contemporary sandbox gaming. "Over time, as our vision evolved and the genre matured around us, the bar kept rising," the post reads. "Our technical ambitions grew more complex, and even after a major reboot of the game engine, the team found that Hytale still wasn't as far along as it needed to be." The Hypixel Studios team formed in 2016, taking its name from the wildly-popular Minecraft mod and server it created. An initial investment from Riot Games helped the team broaden its ambition from mod-making to full-fledged game development. Riot Games bought the independent studio in 2020, furthering the gaming juggernaut's investment in the completion of Hytale's development cycle. Hypixel spoke about development difficulties in its post announcing the shuttering of development on Hytale. It's unclear what, if any, role Riot played in stopping work on the game, but Hypixel Studios' blog post mentions that Riot Games helped the developer look for other investors before ultimately choosing to end development of Hytale. "As we begin winding things down, [Riot is] ensuring our team is supported with generous severance and resources to help them find what's next," the post reads. "It's not just thoughtful -- it's human. And it shows a genuine effort to take care of the people behind the work." The Hypixel Minecraft server currently runs completely independently from Hypixel Studios, and will not be affected by the studio closure. The latest games industry layoffs continue a nasty trend, as the past several years have been rife with career instability. Over 10,500 games industry jobs were lost in 2023, with an additional 14,600 disappearing in 2024. The layoffs have continued at Hypixel Studios and elsewhere, with Microsoft rumored to be preparing for a sizable layoff next week, according to The Verge. Representatives for Riot Games and Hypixel Studios did not immediately respond for comment.
