League of Legends dev buys stake in studio behind Arcane animated series

gamesradar.com:

League of Legends developer and publisher Riot Games has made a big investment in the animation studio behind the acclaimed Netflix anime series Arcane.

Fortiche is a Paris, France-based animation company known for producing the massively popular Netflix series Arcane, itself based on Riot's enduring MOBA League of Legends. The studio has collaborated with Riot for almost 10 years, starting with the music video celebrating the launch of League of Legends champion Jinx. Today, Riot announced that they've purchased a "significant" but non-controlling stake in Fortiche, cementing the two companies' partnership for decades.

"Fortiche has been an integral partner for a long time, but this agreement ensures we'll be working closely for decades to come," Riot CEO Nicolo Laurent said in a press release. "We hold a high bar for everyone we work with and insist they understand players deeply and focus on them relentlessly, and from day one, Fortiche has exemplified Player Experience First. 

"In working with Fortiche, we collaborate to push the boundaries of what’s possible and raise expectations for how games can be represented in media. As proud as we are of Arcane, we know the best is yet to come."

Fortiche and Riot are currently celebrating several big wins at this past weekend's Annie Awards, with Arcane taking home nine awards including Best General Audience animated series. In today's announcement, Riot is unclear about what its equity investment in Fortiche means for the future, but promises "the best is yet to come." Fortiche, meanwhile, is hard at work developing the second season of Arcane for Netflix.

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