- It will also take over the ownership and operations of the Vietnam Championship Series
- Riot says this will help grow the esports ecosystem in SEA
- Players will have to migrate their accounts starting from November 18
As part of its new business decision for the next year, Riot Games will end its 12-year partnership with Garena and will self-publish League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics.
Riot Takes Back SEA League and TFT Publishing
When it comes to managing very popular video game titles and their accompanying esports, it often becomes quite difficult for the company that created the game to control and manage all the competitions. This is why they often strike deals with local organizers to help in the publishing and distribution of the game in local regions.
This is also the case for league of Legends and Teamfight Tactics. Considering both games’ worldwide popularity, it comes as no surprise when Riot Games works with other companies to publish them in regions such as Southeast Asia.
However, this is soon going to change, as Riot has announced that it will self-publish League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics, and end its partnership with game developer Garena. The company will take over the ownership and operations of the Vietnam Championship Series (VCS), however, the Pacific Championship Series will remain unaffected, as it is already operated by Riot.
What Does This Mean for Players?
Riot’s decision came as somewhat of a surprise to many, as its partnership with Garena has lasted for more than 12 years. But it seems LoL’s developer wants to have more direct control over its games and associated esports. Perhaps this is simply a part of Riot’s new strategy for the next year, which includes some controversial changes regarding the biggest LoL tournaments, that the company recently announced.
The specific reason that Riot gave for this decision was that it will boost SEA’s esports ecosystem. “This transition will help provide League pro teams and fans with the most exciting and entertaining esports experience possible,” the publisher said. “We will share more information about esports in the future.”
Riot also revealed it is in the process of establishing new local offices in ‘key’ countries, including the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Considering the company is already self-publishing VALORANT, Legends of Runeterra, and Wild Rift in SEA since the games were launched, it’s safe to assume that it should know the local market well.
As part of the whole moving process, Riot will be opening new League and TFT servers Players will have to migrate their accounts from Garena to Riot if they wish to continue playing. Both companies are working closely to facilitate the account linking process that will open for all from November 18, 2022.
After players kick off the account linking process in November they can continue to play League via the Garena client until early January 2023, when the Garena servers will cease operation. Riot will open around the same time and all players will be able to access League on the Riot multi-game client. When players confirm their instructions and log in for the first time via the Riot multi-game client in January, their game history will be fully migrated.You can visit the official LoL website to learn more details about the process, as well as find answers to the most frequently asked questions.
