Whether you care about League of Legends or not, it's hard to deny the impact that Arcane, an animated series inspired by the game's world and characters, has had on the streaming world.
“Arcana” has been called the most expensive animated series of all time, with production and marketing costs exceeding $250 million for two seasons. If that number sounds big, that's because it is. More importantly, however, this is far more than what everyone else involved paid Riot.
iGamesNews
That's because Riot Games reportedly spent a significant amount of its own money on actually producing the show, and according to a new report from Bloomberg , the show's production went over budget. While there are rumors that a second season of Arcana is in the works, the reality is that season two will be the last, which likely has a lot to do with those production costs.
The budget news is especially cruel considering that Netflix is paying Riot about $3 million per episode, while parent company Tencent paid $3 million to air the show in China. All told, that's less than half the total cost of the show.
The report also reveals that while Riot has ambitious plans to transform itself into a media powerhouse with Arcane's help, the studio doesn't have a solid plan to recoup costs before the show airs. A Riot spokesperson confirmed to Bloomberg that Arcane itself is not profitable, but it has helped the business in other ways. They also said the second season is “on track to at least break even financially.”
It's important to remember that unlike most projects of this nature, Arcane is funded, developed, and produced by Riot. The studio wanted complete control over the IP and production, so it didn't follow the easier (and more profitable) licensing model. It also makes sense that Riot has decided to put other entertainment projects in development on hold, as well as stop developing Arcane itself.
Even more interesting than the raw numbers is the fact that Arcane reportedly isn't bringing enough new players to League of Legends, nor is it convincing existing players to invest more in the game. This is partly due to the limited time the show's creators gave Riot designers to create the in-game skin and thematic events around it (an issue the studio addressed in Season 2), but it's also due to the complex nature of Very important. The game's failure turned off many new players who signed on after the failure of the first season.
As it stands, it doesn't look like Arcane will be followed by any other shows inspired by the League of Legends universe.
