‘League of Legends’ Champions Moving To China? Tencent Fully Acquires Riot Studios

Fans and gamers alike were surprised to hear that California studio Riot Games Studios, creator of the widely popular game 'League of Legends' and the development of the game's Champions, has been fully acquired by the largest internet companies in China, Tencent Holdings, as stated by sources.

'League of Legends' and the creator of its Champions, Riot Games Studios, were recently fully acquired by China's internet giant, Tencent Holdings, by purchasing the remaining equity in the California-based company after buying most of the studio back in 2011, as reported by Engadget.

The deal that took place between Riot Studios and Tencent Holdings back in 2011 culminated in the latter holding a 93% of equity in the studio that was reported to be worth $231,465,000, according to Breitbart.

Riot Games Studio created 'League of Legends' and drafted its Champions back in the mid-2000's and started the company as an indie-game developer, as mentioned by Kit Guru.

In light of how the Califorina-based Riot Games Studio's acknowledgment that the studio has been re-evaluating the way 'League of Legends' operates, more specifically with regard to the stipend payment they give to merchandising deals and competing teams, the recent announcement corresponded with how the studio themselves are going through some significant changes, as stated by Breitbart.

"As a result of our continued growth and changing circumstance, we're shifting to a new structure to recognize and reward Rioters' contribution-and that involves a big change to our existing equity program," as stated in their official site.

"As part of this effort, our majority investor, Tencent, recently purchased the remaining equity of Riot Games. This allows us to move away from the a Riot equity program towards a cash based incentive program that allows Rioters to share in Riot's success," they stated further on Riot Studio's site.