The endemic intellectual property model of Riot Games

When selling in-game skins, publishers have choices to make surrounding where the inspiration and value of these digital goods are derived. For many esports games, this decision has increasingly turned towards inviting various transmedia influences into their games. Arguably, the most extreme case can be found in Fortnite (Epic Games 2017), which has incorporated an extensive and eclectic range of IP collaborators across the domains of anime, superhero comics, pop stars, fashion brands, cinema, and other videogames. In contrast, Riot Games notably stands out against other esports publishers by employing a fundamentally divergent approach in League of Legends (2009) that draws only on the endemic intellectual property that they have had a hand in producing. In this research, we investigate Riot Games’ endemic approach to IP development in and around LoL. We conduct a comparative case study of three transmedia texts created by Riot Games to explore how established publishers look inwards to mobilise aspects of games design and play through transmedia engagement.