Generating Revenue

[aesop]

Richard,

 

It looks good--very professional. Have you thought at all about providing players with customization options, similar to League of Legends, which can be earned over time, or purchased outright?

 

The reason I bring it up is, this model seems like a good way to keep a game free to play, and I think it increases retention by rewarding players for their time investment. Any thoughts on this?

[Vidiot_X]

Hi aesop,

 

Thanks. I should first state that Phoenix will be free to play. With that said maintaining and supporting this game over time would be a lot easier with a source of revenue. I'm open to ideas and the one you suggest is cool. I think it is also used in Battlefield Hero's and other games. I really have been busy designing Phoenix and I have kinda delayed dealing with the subject of revenue. Here at subspace.co I have enjoyed support at no charge and I really want to include input from them and the community in whatever revenue model that may be used. The sense I have so far is make it free to play and as open as possible.

 

So what do you out there in the community think? What is acceptable and what is not? I would hope that we can get a consensus on a way forward for revenue that gives me a path to improve and build a better game with as broad a reach as possible. That of course requires resources in the way of development software, hardware and network delivery. For example developing for Mac OSX requires compiling on a Mac hardware, Android and IOS (IPAD) also requires hardware for those platforms. So there are costs involved. Even developing for Linux has got me wanting to setup a stand alone Linux system instead of duel booting as I do now (frustrating at times to test and dev). I am sure many can understand the need for revenue as it provides a basis for further development and support.

 

So I am open to suggestions.

[Dav]

I am personally never a fan of a game that is free to play but a paid power-up means that player gets an instant advantage that is far and above that of anything that can be attained with hours of dedicated play.

 

Continuum is run entirely on the generosity of its community in terms of time to admin/maintain/dev the game and pay for servers and bandwidth, this is why the game is still going after all these years.

 

I think having some sort of reward for people that do good for the community could be a nice touch. Nothing like a hideously overpowered weapon or ability, but a bit of unique bling for your ship or name-tag or something else of that nature.

[»ZiGNoTZaG]

Whatever the case, you should really start to think about this. Look as far as Cosmic Rift to discover what happens with Open Beta to Pay. Your intentions of what you expect the costs to be should be made clear very soon in the life cycle of Beta.

[Vidiot_X]

@ZIGNotZag

 

you should really start to think about this

Yes, and that's why I'm asking about it.

 

Look as far as Cosmic Rift to discover what happens with Open Beta to Pay. Your intentions of what you expect the costs to be should be made clear very soon in the life cycle of Beta.

I have know idea what Cosmic Rifts story is. Maybe you could fill me in.

 

I am almost in beta and your right now is the time to work this out. Really, I am only looking to make the project self sufficient.

 

There are alternatives to the above model. Donations is one path which I prefer because it's less invasive to a user. KickStarter might be away to clearly define the project goals, costs and donation goal. But all that requires a buzz around a project that just is not there yet with Phoenix IMHO. Perhaps getting users involved in beta (where gaming happens) would generate enough interest to fund the project, not sure. But after a project gets funded in such a way solicitation for continued donations has to happen as well for continued support.

 

Anyway, I think I'll muse this over some Turkey.

 

- Rich -

[»ZiGNoTZaG]

I don't know the whole story, and I am sure there is more to it then just the surface I know. Cosmic Rift was a 2d spaceship game created by one of the lead programers of the original subspace, based on the infantry engine. There was a plethora of buzz around it and many subspace pilots(including myself) played there during the open beta. As soon as it went pay, the game itself just could not offer compelling reasons to stay despite all of its more advanced features. Continuum just proved to be a more "solid" game, and it cost nothing more then having the desire and equipment to play it.

 

The population remaining faltered after a few years and the game died.

 

Its not far off from what happened to subspace itself. Beta too long, went pay, cracked 1 day after retail, dead.

 

Perhaps no cost to play the game, and nominal fees to develop and host servers to offset the costs of development. Some sort of benefit to being attached to a central name server? Universal ban network? Priority support? A louder voice in suggestions for development.

 

A "registered" server would get "special" treatment.

[Vidiot_X]

Perhaps no cost to play the game, and nominal fees to develop and host servers to offset the costs of development. Some sort of benefit to being attached to a central name server? Universal ban network? Priority support? A louder voice in suggestions for development.

I'm inclined to agree. A fee for the server and world/map editor would be a good way to gain revenue and limit a plethora of bad maps as well as control misuse. Couple that with user donations and it could work. I would have to agree with DAV that selling advanced weapons or other goodies gives an unfair advantage to those with cash. In the case of Battlefield Hero's this really just rubbed me the wrong way. Although they do have a server program that I might look at just to see how they did it.

 

The bottom line is free to play. That is really the only way I can see developing a large base of users over time. It really is a question of what method works to acquire revenue to sustain development and support.

 

- Rich -

[Lone Outlaw]

i think the best option is upon install, after the i agree terms and services, before you choose folder to install, just add an option to donate up to 5$ only. So none of this full limit crap where you ask for any amount, i think more people would donate if you asked for up to 5$ only, as opposed to donate anything even 10,000$ which pissed me off in that other thread. And link your installer with some pay-pal thing.

 

i would definitely donate the full amount of 5$ and then install the game.

 

If anything you are better off doing something like 5$ to make an account, installer is free, (Without account you can play on any random name that only lasts for 1 day)

This is similar to the game Altitude.

 

If you do free to play, but pay for extras, then you get into a whole shit storm of some players being better/having advantage over others. Even if its some simple customizations that don't affect game play, it's still bad, because there will be an even bigger split in game between people who are premium or people who aren't. It's completely the wrong road.

 

1. Either free to play, pay 2-5$ for an account (each account can have up to 10 names) (basically pay for full biller options)

2. Free to play, donate up to 5$

3. Pay for the installer 5$. (of course the installer will get around, you'll need some authentication codes updated weekly, upon install must be connected to the internet, to match the new code, with the one in the server, or you'll need some type of CD key system for online play.)

 

Personally i prefer option 1, followed closely by 2.

 

If you go over 5$ it will be too much. Also consider little kids don't have paypal or credit cards, so be sure to add a gift option.

 

P.S 5$ is the price of 2 expensive coffees, so, unless you make less than 11k a year, or you never buy coffee it's a good deal.

Edited November 23, 2012 by Lone Outlaw

[Vidiot_X]

Hi,

 

In addition to 'supporting' revenue I'm interested in where to market Phoenix. If you have any good sources let me know. With all the different platforms marketing is much more fragmented then it used to be and thus a bit harder.

 

 

@Avast

Noted. option 2 seems interesting.

 

- Rich -

[aesop]

Hi,

 

sorry for the late reply. I'm glad everyone is discussing the revenue options, and that the general attitude, players and developer, are about maintaining an open, free to play vision. I think getting into specifics regarding revenue (dollar amount) may be somewhat premature--however, the idea you mentioned about a "donate option" coupled with the game sounds very reasonable in the near term. Over the long term I think a vision and business strategy should be considered to help drive the game, and possible revenue, in a consistent and well defined direction that is in line with the gameplay.

 

Regarding marketing, I think product development should be the number 1 priority right now, especially considering marketing is a cost. So, why not wait until you know what you have, and what it may be worth. Implementing a marketing strategy < Product development in this particular market. Just my .02. I'll look into what may be a good strategy to pursue and the costs involved for you though.

 

The SS game has solid gameplay that I think, like you mentioned in your development posts, would transition well to mobile devices. How you code the gameplay, and how the game is displayed for mobile users, assuming they are integrated with pc-based users, will have a critical impact on the gameplay, and may make or break the product (mobile users have smaller screens, we all know SS players with a larger screen see more, and thus play "better").

 

So, the reason I wanted to ask about this stuff is:

 

1): The "store" option, so customiztion, which creates user specific conditions that are then loaded into the actual game and will affect things such as turn rate, ship choice, or graphics, should probably be considered during the initial development.

 

2): Resolving the mobile vs. PC dilemma with SS gameplay is important to increasing your player base. A mobile capable game has a much wider audience than PC only--plus, mobile only games don't necessarily require intense 3D graphics, which is a weakness of SS (a 2D game).

 

So, I thought League of Legends (LOL) is the best place to look for ideas about revenue. Here's why: The game is free to play, has a very large player base, is techinically 2D, but its design prevents implementation on mobile devices. So, assuming a strategy can be developed to increase the depth of the SS game, through customization, which leverages the strengths of the gameplay, and has a revenue generating function, you could hit the "Angry birds meets League of Legends" jackpot.

 

LOL generates revenue the same way the fashion industry does--they sell things that change a person's appearance, but how successful a player in LOL is still based on their skill as a decision maker. The skill of SS players will still be twitch (hand eye coordination), however, the methods players kill other players can change (new ship types), the way their favorite ship looks can change (multiple versions of the warbird ship art), and you can create a monetary system based upon success within the game (killing players) that players can spend on items that increase their ships stats by arguably negligible amounts (+3% turn rate, +3% bomb damage, +1.5% top speed).

 

Specifically, LOL uses items called "runes", each player has about 15 or so slots for a rune of any specific type. You can purchase these runes on day 1, for money, or earn them over the course of about a month of heavy playing. Having no runes doesn't significantly reduce you chances of beating a player, but they help. The store in a SS game could have something very similar--a ship with positions for items related to offense or defense. We can talk at length about the depth of the LOL customization, but the key is that it is a large part of the game, and the investment psychologically cements the game with players, who will want to return to the game.

 

Just theorizing more specifically a bit here, bear with me: A ship with a higher HP, that when it collides with bombs, and nearby players are within the blast radius, absorbs all of the damage, rather than sharing it with nearby teammates. A ship with a active field of a certain radius that damages enemy players who are in it. A ship that shoots bombs that disable an enemy ship, similar to an engine shut down. A ship that can "loop" a la Star Fox, and dodge any bomb or bullet that passes within range during the "loop" maneuver. Infinite possibilities--just like in fashion, and that is what you would be selling, really, just digital fashion.

 

I think it would be fun to sit down and design a very crude customization sheet to give an idea of how it could work--I'll sit down and draw something out, scan it, and put it up here and we can all talk about it.

Edited November 24, 2012 by aesop

[aesop]

Purchasing a new "ship" in LoL costs about $7. Purchasing a new ship in SS could cost $5. Alternatively, about one week of heavy play and a player could purchase that ship for free. However, the way points are awarded--an RPG grind in LOL, would not apply to SS, considering that playing SS for such long periods of time may not be as rewarding as a game you can "win" (LOL is a matched based game, like a 4v4 league match, rather than freeplay, i.e. Chaos Zone). Excuse the links, the chart didn't copy well.

 

http://leagueoflegen...iki/Riot_Points

 

Prices of Riot Points

Riot Points NA 650http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20091017165556/leagueoflegends/images/thumb/8/8c/RpPoints.png/20px-RpPoints.png 1380data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAQAICTAEAOw%3D%3D 2800data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAQAICTAEAOw%3D%3D 5000data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAQAICTAEAOw%3D%3D 7200data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAQAICTAEAOw%3D%3D 15000data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAQAICTAEAOw%3D%3D US Dollar $5.00 $10.00 $20.00 $35.00 $50.00 $100.00 Canadian Dollar $4.89 $9.78 $19.57 $34.24 $48.92 $97.84

Riot Points EU 839data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAQAICTAEAOw%3D%3D 1779data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAQAICTAEAOw%3D%3D 3612data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAQAICTAEAOw%3D%3D 6451data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAQAICTAEAOw%3D%3D 9305data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAQAICTAEAOw%3D%3D Euro €5.00 €10.00 €20.00 €35.00 €50.00 Pound £4.50 £9.01 £18.03 £31.56 £45.09

Riot Points BR 650data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAQAICTAEAOw%3D%3D 1380data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAQAICTAEAOw%3D%3D 2800data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAQAICTAEAOw%3D%3D 5000data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAQAICTAEAOw%3D%3D 7200data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAQAICTAEAOw%3D%3D 14600data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAQAICTAEAOw%3D%3D Brazil Real R$8,50 R$17,00 R$34,00 R$59,50 R$85,00 R$170,00

 

Value

 

The following table represents the value of common Riot Point prices when purchasing the respective smallest possible packages via PayPal or similar. Riot Points 260data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAQAICTAEAOw%3D%3D 390data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAQAICTAEAOw%3D%3D 520data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAQAICTAEAOw%3D%3D 585data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAQAICTAEAOw%3D%3D 975data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAQAICTAEAOw%3D%3D 1820data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAQAICTAEAOw%3D%3D US Dollar $2.00 $3.00 $4.00 $4.50 $7.50 $14.00 Euro €1.55 €2.32 €3.10 €3.49 €5.81 €10.85 Brazil Real R$3,40 R$5,10 R$6,80 R$7,65 R$12,75 R$25,50

Although many people claim that Legendary Skins cost $20, this table shows that their actual cost is $14, not considering any bonus points gained by purchasing larger bundles of Riot Points.

Some online payment methods will grant you more points for your money than others. Purchasing points with a mobile phone for example, yields less net income of points, as opposed to using PayPal for the transaction.

Edited November 24, 2012 by aesop

[aesop]

Here is a very rough picture with MS Paint to give you an idea of customization options players can "invest" in:

http://img14.imagefra.me/i5bo/aesop/iix1_e8e_ucyhi.png

Edited November 24, 2012 by aesop

[aesop]

So, besides selling skins for ships, new ships that differentiate the battlefield, you also sell digital objects that augment:

 

Top Speed

Acceleration Forward

Acceleration Reverse

Reduced Bomb Pushback

Increased Bomb Pushback

Total Health

Recharge Rate

Damage Reduction

 

Bomb Damage

Bomb Damage Radius

Bomb Shrapnel Damage

Bomb Energy cost (is this offensive or defensive?)

Gun energy cost

+% Bomb Homing

+% Gun Homing

 

 

Ship abilities ranging from increased damage to low health targets, increased health, unique items and abilities, etc.

 

Greening could be split into green items, and green money, and bot ships could be added (AI coding....) which award money when killed. Players can purchase Thors, or purchase upgrades that put Thors on a 1 time use 45 second cooldown, same with reps. Infinite possibilities.

 

BTW, the customization screen above would need some form a "generic ship" template, rather than a warbird, I would think that all players should have access to the same number and type of customization options, but that is just my opinion. New ships could have unique loadouts, which may increase player incentives to purchase them.

Edited November 24, 2012 by aesop

[Lone Outlaw]

i wouldn't adopt such a system, we play games to get away from society and capitalism, the last thing i need is to bring real world money into a game, in order to look good, or have advancements. It's enough we have to conform to society by buying a house, living next to neighbors, and being forced to mow our lawns. Then having what kind of car you drive as some sort of status symbol, as well as how you dress, and if you can afford a cell phone for your 12 year old kids. Why do i need the same type of elitism in a game? Again this only creates an atmosphere where people have things you don't have in the game. It makes others feel insecure, inadequate, and creates different classes of people.

 

The best option if you want in game revenue, is to sell accounts. So you can have for example a player account, with full access to the biller server. But on this account, you can only have 1 name. If you want more than 1 name, you have to pay 5$ to buy a premium account, the only difference being you can have up to 10 names on the biller. That's it, no in game items (making players better than others), and no in game customizations. Just more names through the premium account. As we all know the zones themselves will be unique and separate from each other, so each zone will decide what ships there are, and customizations. You can't impose any of this on a zone. So the whole buying add ons, and customizations doesn't fly anyway, unless Richard was prepared get rid of zone owners, and have 10 servers, all under his control. Which he is not.

 

The account system can be individualized, instead of a whole account with 10 names, you can buy name slots, for 1$ each. So your free account, can have up to 10 names, if you buy the slots. i don't really see a problem with buying name space, and it will deter most name collectors who don't have money or feel it's worth paying for. There will be less smurfs also. Idiot's wont just make a name in 5 seconds to troll someone. And names slots that are bought generally will be used and so most people will be known in game. As well it allows for revenue to always come in from players. As name creation is the big thing. Instead of 5$ from 1000 people, for a total of 5000$, you will always have revenue coming in slowly without the difference in ships, or items among players, without the need for people to feel inadequate or that they are missing some portion of the game because they can't afford it. Without the advantages of some players over others, because someone bought +1 speed.

 

If you want to purchase shit for your ship, wait for Hyperspace zone to make it to one of the new clients, and advocate to spidernl to ask for money for ship upgrades. This is a zone level decision, not Richards.

Edited November 25, 2012 by Lone Outlaw

[aesop]

Hmmm, I think I understand what you mean. To counter your "capitalism isn't good for society" argument I think someone could say "you don't need *stuff* to look good", and because everything in the game is technically free, you in fact don't need to pay anything. As an example, I have played LOL for over a year, and have paid $0 thus far, and I am just as competitive as my opponents. I don't feel inadequate when my opponents have skins different from mine. I do see it as an investment on their part, and tend to expect better gameplay from them--but this isn't always the case. Sometimes they are not very good players, but enjoy playing with a different skin.

 

I think this is where the vision and strategy for the game becomes important. But, the technical problems you mentioned about how the community would be organized, especially considering how it is currently organized, is very important. The zones issue would be a big deal. LOL has 2 maps/game types run by company servers. I personally think of the custom zones, which are often poorly implemented, as a gimmick--unless there is a particular zone that players play. Again, that was how LOL began, it was originally a player map scenario in Warcraft 3 that a few players thought they could turn it into a game, and they did. So, it became more than a hobby, they made a business. Could they have implemented multiple scenarios? Yes, but by focusing on the strengths of the game people enjoyed they were able to develop a stronger product. I see this as 4v4 and Chaos zone settings, which are very unique game types. I personally think the strengths of the SS game are found in these two game types, and that the possibility for generating revenue as a free to play game is a real possibility. But again, maybe Richard and the community don't want that. Just tossing out ideas.

 

To reaffirm the LOL strategy--you do NOT need to pay anything to succeed. All players are equal. The "upgrades" listed above would be purchase with two types of currency, the 1st is earned in game by everyone, and the 2nd is paid for by people who would rather have the upgrades now. So, you don't need a big car or a flashy ship to beat people--that would violate the strengths of the game, which are skill based.

Edited November 25, 2012 by aesop

[aesop]

Here are some examples of the LOL store, with "upgrades", skins, and new "ships".

 

http://media-titanium.cursecdn.com/attachments/thumbnails/42/966/630/630/quint-runes-store.png

http://media-titanium.cursecdn.com/attachments/thumbnails/41/543/630/630/runes2.PNG

 

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__ngYh18PBGg/S7_u-DZQZ6I/AAAAAAAAAEk/QD8JkNslsE8/s1600/lol_store.jpg

 

 

http://cdn.garenanow.com/webupdate/live/lolphweb/news/2011-10-19/dakilang-maninibat.jpg

Edited November 25, 2012 by aesop

[Lone Outlaw]

Well as long as zones can still have their freedom and autonomy, then it's not too bad. Keep in mind this LOL system needs to work in a way were each zone would still be run by their respective zone owners. We want the community to be able to create zones to allow for everyone's ideas to be represented. Any new client wants to keep the freedom given to the players to run their own zones. So any pay system will have to respect that freedom, and also respect the originality and differences of each zone.

 

So unlike LOL the game is not static and fixed to one central game-play. Each zone will have it's own style of game. Hyperspace focuses on buying weapons, ships, etc with in game currency, the only zone of it's kind. Other zones don't want to adopt that system at all, they want everyone to have the same ship, and are primarily based on flagging, or league game play. EG is a fast paced fly over a green to get it's surprise upgrade zone, while DSB is a more wear them down no instant kill zone. Trench wars is your instant kill, make your shot count zone. Etc, im sure you played continuum.

 

In this way you need to find a common theme for every zone, where you can sell one item, and it won't affect the originality of the zone in any way, and won't screw with other zones. Buying a +1 speed upgrade might be fine for Hyperspace, but not for Deathstarbattle. So this leads me to believe you will need multiple stores, for each zone. Similar to what OMGPOP.COM has for each of it's games. Or someway to buy a customization that every zone would agree with. Either that or just sell skins for the client, or in-game windows.

 

As well this system will be more easily accepted if there actually is a way to earn in game points and eventually buy items with those points, as opposed to always needing a credit card.

Edited November 25, 2012 by Lone Outlaw

[aesop]

I think it may also be important to point out that the reason players are hosting their own zones is because the game hasn't been commercially successful. If the game becomes commercially successful, the zones would (ideally) become centrally operated. That doesn't mean other players can't "do their own thing", but the strategic objective would be creating a product people will pay for, which is quite different than players hosting their own zones. I do understand this may violate the sense of culture that currently exists.

[Lone Outlaw]

The server can be centrally operated, which i wouldn't really find ideal at all, because you rely one person 'Richard' to do anything that concerns the server or biller. Much like we rely on Priitk right now. If Richard decides to stop caring one day or becomes busy then centrally operated becomes a problem.

 

Likewise, if the server was centrally operated, it would still allow zones to be autonomous, with their own content, game-play, style etc, and a person or zone owner who oversees and runs their respective zones. You would still need someone to run a zone. And it allows for anyone to join the central hub with their own zone ideas. As opposed to having one guy in charge of 10 zones, trying to update them all according to their different game play, and likely having limited ideas because he or she is only one person. The way the system is now allows for more creativity, and freedom.

 

Personally i like that continuum has a few server hosts. If we disagree with the hosts of Trench Wars we can always play on zones whose server is run by Numpf etc. If one server goes down, the other server will be active.

 

You might have to define centrally operated better.

Edited November 25, 2012 by Lone Outlaw

[aesop]

I think what means is, a long time down the road, Richard could form a gaming company, if the product he builds is successful. I think having player run servers is the perfect place to develop the game, but long term the community would need to settle on a standard that everyone enjoys (that would become the finished game) and can be marketed successfully--this means a map, physics, and play style. LOL has created 2 unique game styles that are very different, but the core of their product is the equivalent of SS 4v4 (LOL is 5v5). I think the reason for this league style play being so successful is players want to "win". Freeplay (Chaos zone) is fun, and a great way to learn, but "winning" and rankings are typically more universally rewarding experiences for players who will invest in a game--meaning, get good at it, and put money into it.

 

Here is a bit of history about Riot, the gamers who took a Warcraft 3 scenario map and made it into alot more:

 

 

Riot Games, Inc. was founded in 2006 by entrepreneurial gamers, Brandon "Ryze" Beck and Marc "Tryndamere" Merrill, with the goal of being a player-focused game development studio. The company launched its debut title League of Legends in October 2009^[3] On May 1, 2012, Riot Game announced its Season 2 Championship with a $2,000,000 prize pool, the largest in eSports history.^[4]

Some of their notable employees include Steve "Guinsoo" Feak, a former developer of the Warcraft 3 custom map Defense of the Ancients and Steve "Pendragon" Mescon, creator of the Defense of the Ancients fan site, DotA-Allstars.com.^[5] Riot Games also employs about a dozen former Blizzard developers, including Tom Cadwell.^[6]

Riot Games obtained around US$1 million from venture capital firms to create League of Legends. In later rounds of funding, the company raised $8 million in capital from venture capital firms Benchmark Capital and FirstMark Capital.^[12] In early 2011, the Chinese company Tencent Holdings invested in a majority stake in Riot Games valued at $400 million, according to Dow Jones business news.^[13] The deal allowed Riot Games to maintain independent operations and its existing management team.^[14]

Edited November 26, 2012 by aesop

[Vidiot_X]

OMG. Let me read this all.