„League of Legends: Wild Rift“ erreichte bei Google Play fast 40 Millionen Vorregistrierungen

Hintergrund

Riot Games launched League of Legends, a multiplayer online battle arena, for PCs in 2009. From there, League of Legends has grown to be one of the most played PC games and largest esports franchise, rivaling some of the largest traditional sporting events in terms of viewership.

The success of Riot Games has grown out of a belief that players deserve more. It is about creating an entertainment experience with games at its center, where players’ time, dedication, and love are valued. Their goal is to be the most player-focused company in the world.

What they did

As mobile technology evolved dramatically over the past few years, Riot Games realized there was great potential to bring League of Legends’ to the platform. In order to do this, their challenge was to create something that offered the same heart-racing team moments players got in League of Legends on PC.

Das Unternehmen entwickelte daher League of Legends: Wild Rift, das die bekannten Funktionen von League of Legends umfasst, aber speziell für Mobilgeräte optimiert wurde. Bringing this to life meant rethinking and reengineering their champion’s abilities for a touchscreen interface.

It was essential for them to get user feedback, early and often. Riot Games richtete eine Vorregistrierungskampagne bei Google Play ein, um die Spieler über den Zeitplan für das Spiel zu informieren. Außerdem konnte Riot auf diese Weise direkten Kontakt zu den Spielern auf ihren Mobilgeräten halten.

Building on pre-registration, Riot Games leveraged Play Console to involve users who pre-registered in testing. They started on a small-scale, with players in Brazil and the Philippines, then expanded to a closed beta test in Southeast Asia, with millions of players. Während der entscheidenden Entwicklungsphase testete Riot Games zentrale Spielschleifen und ermittelte die Zufriedenheit der Spieler. So konnte es relativ sicher sein, dass eine weltweite Markteinführung erfolgreich sein würde.

Results

Am Ende der Vorregistrierungskampagne von „League of Legends: Wild Rift“ gab es fast 40 Millionen Vorregistrierungen weltweit. This result helped Riot Games make critical business decisions. Durch die Analyse von Märkten mit hohen Vorregistrierungsraten konnte es beispielsweise die für die Einführung erforderliche Infrastruktur und Serverkapazität besser planen.

From this process, Riot Games learned not to be afraid to reimagine the League of Legends experience to make it feel native to mobile; the key was preserving the game’s essence. Ultimately, it was an opportunity to deepen engagement with existing fans and introduce their IP to an entirely new audience via mobile.

Zur Play Console