Riot Games, a developer and publisher of online games, has closed a round of financing with venture capital firms Benchmark Capital and FirstMark Capital, and Chinese online services co
Riot Games, a developer and publisher of online games, has closed a round of financing with venture capital firms Benchmark Capital and FirstMark Capital, and Chinese online services company Tencent.
Tencent is a provider of internet value-added services with more than 400 million users and the largest digital goods company in China, which operates a fast growing online games business.
Although still nascent in western markets, Riot’s session-based, free-to-play, virtual item-based business model is a popular business model for monetizing games in Asia. While most North American and European publishers continue to prioritize a packaged goods model, Riot has embraced the ‘games-as-service’ model, which it believes is the future of games and a major global opportunity.
‘Riot is fortunate to have such a strong and diverse group of investors who support our vision of combining triple A quality gaming content with the emerging free to play business model,’ says Brandon Beck, chief executive of Riot Games. ‘With our focus on delivering and operating core games as premium, live services that constantly adapt to our customers’ needs, we have a unique opportunity to build global franchises. This new investment comes as Riot prepares the worldwide launch of its flagship League of Legends title, and further positions the company as a leader in next-generation online games.’
Riot Games’ first free premium game League of Legends is slated to launch in North America this autumn. Earlier this year, Riot Games and Tencent announced a distribution partnership for Riot’s ‘League of Legends’ in the Chinese market.
