Skip to main content

League of Legends adds branded arena banners to e-sports matches

Some familiar brands will begin making an appearance during League of Legends matches.

Developer Riot Games announced it will add customized arena banners in League of Legends that will allow brands to advertise during professional matches of the popular multiplayer online battle arena game. The banners will mimic the ads seen at traditional sporting events.

Fans will start to see in-game banners featuring actual ads on the Summoner’s Rift map on June 20 during the 2020 Summer Split events, and they will continue through the League of Legends Championship Series’ World Championship later this year. The change will also come to League of Legends’ regional e-sports leagues.

Riot Games approved 50 brands to appear on regional and international matches, including Mastercard and Alienware.

League of Legends is no stranger to sponsorships. Its 2019 World Championships featured a Louis Vuitton trophy case for the winners, as well as cross-branded merchandise. It’s also implemented other sponsorships with big-name brands like MasterCard in the past.

The latest strategy is a collaboration with Nielsen, which sees in-game banners as a lucrative asset for e-sports. The NBA 2K League and Rocket League already use their virtual gaming venues for advertisements, both in-game and during e-sports competitions. However, those games come with playspaces that more closely resemble real-life sports venues.

“Nielsen’s experience as our trusted metrics partner, as well as for professional sports, has allowed us to fast-track the valuation of Summoner’s Rift Arena Banners,” Doug Watson, head of Esports Insights at Riot Games, told Digital Trends. “At various points throughout the development process, Nielsen advised on best practices that would unlock additional value for our brand partners.”

Watson believes the in-game banners will allow e-sports to achieve parity with professional sports leagues when it comes to advertising, citing the NFL, NBA, and Union of European Football Associations’ use of branded stadiums and arenas.

However, unlike players on the field, League of Legends players won’t see the ads that spectators do.

“This was largely a consideration to avoid impacting the competitive integrity of matches,” Watson said. “Professional League of Legends players are highly attuned to the layout of the map, and it was important for us not to impact their existing strategies with the release of this product.”

League of Legends is the most-watched e-sport in the world, and the 2019 World Championship saw viewers tune in for over 137 million hours. Its popularity continues to grow, with the league showing a 66% increase over 2018. Official broadcasts stream on over 30 distribution platforms worldwide, and ESPN2 aired five matches of the Spring Split playoffs in April.

This offers plenty of potential eyes on ads in future matches.

Editors' Recommendations

Tyler Treese
When not playing or writing about games, Tyler Treese serves as the Senior Editor at Wrestlezone. An experienced writer that…
The Mageseeker blends League of Legends lore with Hades’ action
Sylas attacking with chains surrounded by purple magic

When I sat down to try a demo of The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story at PAX East, I was dropped straight into an escape mission. At first, I fumbled with switching between casting spells and dodging attacks from enemy mages. By the end, I juggled between at least four magical abilities while dashing around to survive. It was a hectic experience, but one that perfectly complemented its storytelling.

The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story | Official Gameplay Trailer

Read more
Three League of Legends indie game spinoffs will release in 2023
Key art highlighting Riot Forge's three League of Legends spinoffs in 2023.

Riot Forge, Riot Games' indie publisher focused on making League of Legends spinoffs with smaller teams, unveiled its 2023 lineup today. We learned about The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story, an action RPG from the developers of indie gem Moonlighter, for the first time, and Riot Games revealed more specific release windows for Convergence: A League of Legends Story and Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story.
The first of these games to release will be Digital Sun's The Mageseeker, which comes out this spring. The game focuses on League of Legends champion Sylas, revolutionary fighting back against the kingdom of Demacia for taking advantage of mages. We only see a little bit of gameplay in Riot Forge's 2023 lineup trailer, but it definitely looks somewhat similar to Moonlighter with its isometric action centered around Sylas' change and magical abilities.
Riot Forge Games 2023 | The Year Ahead Trailer
The next Riot Forge game to come out will be Double Stallion Games' Convergence sometime this summer. The game is a 2D platformer with time-based platforming and combat that follows Ekko, a character you'll recognize if you watched Arcane. Finally, Song of Nunu will launch this fall. It's a third-person adventure game from Tequila Works, a developer that's mastered that formula with titles like Rime and Gylt. It follows a young boy named Nunu and his yeti Willump as they search for Nunu's mother, so this game is bound to pack an emotional punch. 
While only two games have come from Riot Forge so far, its catalog of games finally seems to be ramping up this year. The Mageseeker, Convergence, and Song of Nunu will all be released for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch over the course of 2023. 

Read more
Legends of Runeterra 2023 road map outlined by Riot Games
Jinx fires her special weapon in Legends of Runeterra key art.

Riot Games has laid out its plans to revitalize its collectible League of Legends card game, Legends of Runeterra, in 2023. The backbone of the road map is a recurring three-month release cycle that rotates through the releases of Expansions, Live Balance Patches, and Variety Sets.
Each quarter of the 2023 road map will feature an Expansion, which Riot Games says will primarily focus on new champions and game mechanics. As such, these will be the biggest updates of the year, with Riot Games teasing that brand-new and returning champions are coming alongside a reworking of PvP. The month after an Expansion drops, players can expect a big Live Balance Patch, which Riot Games describes as "dedicated spaces where we’ll be focused on addressing anything that may have room for improvement."

After releasing an Expansion and making any needed adjustments with the big Live Balance Path, Riot Games will conclude the cycle with the release of a Variety Set, which is the developers say are akin to a "quarterly booster pack or a mini-expansion" that contains new non-Champion cards, as well as even more balance updates. After that, the cycle will start anew, ensuring that Legends of Runeterra will get a notable update every month for the rest of 2023.
On top of that cycle, Riot Games also shared a higher-level road map outlining what players can expect in 2023. The developers are promising that new Legends of Runeterra champions and items, relic balance updates, a competitive PvP revamp, and new play formats are coming very soon. After that, new achievements, ways to get legacy content, and monthly Path of Champions adventures will be part of future updates. Riot Games is also working to add ways to play with international players and support player-hosted tournaments, although those updates are further out.
Regardless, it looks like 2023 is going to be a busy year for Legends of Runeterra, and Riot Games is being pretty clear about how it's rolling everything out. Legends of Runeterra is available for PC, iOS, and Android; Xbox Game Pass subscribers can get some special bonuses by syncing their accounts, too. 

Read more