The second season of Arcane debuted to tremendous acclaim earlier this year, securing awards and a strong audience. However, critics point out that the series did not succeed in bringing new players to League of Legends.
Rooted in the League of Legends universe and its beloved characters, Arcane achieved rapid success, appealing to a broader audience far beyond the game’s core fanbase.
The animated series’ first season, praised by critics, finally reached 34 million views in its opening week on Netflix. Although the second season experienced a drop in viewership, it continued to be the most popular show on the platform during its launch.
Arcane was not only known for its immense popularity but also for making headlines when it was revealed that the production and marketing of the show had a hefty price tag of $250 million.
EP Explains Arcane’s Reported $250 Million Budget: “We’re A Game Company”
One key failure advocated ib a plethora of external reports say that League of Legends didn’t see an influx of new players as expected.
Further Bloomberg noted that there wasn’t enough time for the developers to introduce new characters, cosmetics, or in-game items based on Arcane, resulting in a missed chance to leverage the show’s popularity for the game.
Although League of Legends gained a lot of new players after the first season’s success, most of them didn’t stay. A spokesperson from Riot has recently addressed the criticism in the recent reports.
Discover BTS Process of Arcane Season 2 Through These Fascinating Making-Of Videos
Riot Regards Arcane A Success
Ahead of Arcane Season 2, League of Legends players were introduced to new skins and updates inspired by the series. Among these was the Arcane Fractured Jinx cosmetic, priced at $250, which stirred controversy within the community because of its steep cost.
League of Legends also witnessed the addition of two new champions, Mel and Ambessa (set to arrive early next year). Although Riot aimed to make the most of Season 2, player retention remained low, and in-game spending didn’t produce enough revenue to make a meaningful difference.
In response to growing reports about Arcane’s “failure,” Riot Co-Founder Marc Merrill addressed the criticism on Reddit, saying, “People with a short-term, transactional, cynical outlook often find it difficult to grasp Riot’s approach.
He continued, “This has been quite a recurring theme with those who once argued that high-quality free games wouldn’t succeed, that esports were doomed, and that our music was outlandish, and now they’re saying Arcane wasn’t impressive or valuable.”
Merrill mentioned that critics assumed Riot’s primary focus was selling skins, leading to the belief that Arcane was unsuccessful when skin sales didn’t generate enough profit. However, he stressed that the show’s creation was not driven by the goal of selling skins.
Earlier, they were primarily focused on the long-term development of League of Legends, with an emphasis on enhancing the player experience and producing more content.
They also aim to create things that resonate with fans. “To be clear, Arcane was a major hit with players, and that made it a success for us,” Merrill explained.
Riot had earlier made plans for more such animated series, including spin-offs focusing on the stories of other champions.
When a fan on Reddit raised concerns about the feasibility of these projects due to Arcane not being profitable enough, Merrill responded by affirming that the revenue was sufficient, assuring that the additional series to continue further.
