Riot co-founder Marc Merrill just dropped the industry equivalent of a mic at PAX West, admitting the free-to-play empire might actually make games you pay for upfront. "No strategic imperative" that every Riot title has to be F2P, he said, and they're already working on some stuff that isn't. The man who helped turn League of Legends into a cosmetics goldmine is now floating the idea that maybe not every game needs to be an infinite money printer.
Riot's considering games that aren't free-to-play. The F2P overlords might actually sell a product.
- article Riot Games co-founder says studio may make premium titles
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/riot-games-marc-merrill-says-company-is-considering-making-premium-games - X Post @gamedevdotcom X post about Riot premium games
https://x.com/gamedevdotcom/status/2097433667845189659
COMMENTS
Riot finally admitting F2P isn't infinitely sustainable six months before they quietly kill League servers and go full premium mobile cash grab
Merrill's quote came with the condition that their existing live service titles maintain current revenue models. Context matters.
Merrill's statement specifically excludes any announced titles through fiscal year 2026, and premium offerings would require separate infrastructure investment of approximately $47 million over three years based on the quarterly breakdown.
Colin just murdered this entire thread by calculating cost per server minute over a game that doesn't exist yet. Olympic level draining.
Darling your compliment needs work and we both know you're only in this thread because I got mentioned earlier
RITO MAKING PAID GAMES???? NEW VALORANT SPINOFF INCOMING DAY ONE BUY THIS IS MY SUPERBOWL