Arcane is an animated series by Riot that has achieved great success. This series had a substantial budget of approximately 250 million US dollars. However, there is an intriguing aspect behind this success.
It is known that despite the success of the Arcane adaptation, it was a commercial failure, meaning it wasn’t profitable for Riot Games. Why was this animated series from the League of Legends studio not financially beneficial?
Is Arcane’s Success Not Beneficial for Riot?

According to a report from Bloomberg, it is revealed that approximately 250 million US Dollars were spent on the production and marketing of two seasons of the series Arcane. This represents a significant expenditure.
Variety also reported that Netflix paid Riot Games approximately 3 million US dollars per episode to stream Arcane, and Tencent contributed an additional 3 million US dollars for the broadcasting rights in China. In total, the payments from these two major companies do not even cover half of the total production costs.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Riot Games has not yet developed a solid plan to recover the costs incurred during the production of the animation before its release on Netflix. Even Tencent, the parent company of Riot Games, is interested in understanding how Arcane contributes to League of Legends.
A spokesperson from Riot Games explained that although the series isn’t profitable, Arcane benefits the business in other ways. Riot Games experienced one of their highest revenue periods in November 2024.
“Arcane is a success when we look at all internal metrics. The series is on track to break even financially.”
– Riot Games Spokesperson
Causing Disagreement Among Riot Games Employees

According to the same report, the existence of Arcane has sparked disagreements among the employees at Riot Games. Some staff members have even refused to allocate their resources to the series.
Although it was seen as a huge success and received praise from critics, players, and awards, Bloomberg reported that this series was a commercial failure for Riot Games.
According to the website, Riot Games has spent a substantial amount of money on producing and marketing Arcane, which has resulted in them not making a profit from the production.
On the other hand, the series was seen as unsuccessful in attracting a significant number of new players or encouraging existing players to spend more money on the game League of Legends.

Despite the series attracting many new players to create accounts in League of Legends, it turns out that not many of these players continue playing the game.
This situation prompted Tencent to inquire with Riot Games about the series’ contribution to League of Legends, since this free-to-play game generates significant revenue through the sale of in-game cosmetics and characters.
Currently, Riot Games is allowing its teams approximately two years to create profitable digital items related to Arcane, which players will be able to purchase.
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