riot games

China's video games regulator granted publishing licences to 45 foreign games for release in the country further lifting rigid curbs that have hammered the industry for 18 months. Among the imported online games approved by the National Press and Publication Administration are five to be published by Tencent Holdings such as "Pokemon Unite" by Nintendo and "Valorant" by Riot Games, according to a list the regulator released. The regulator also approved 84 domestic games for the month of December, according to a separate…

Alphabet's Google has struck at least 24 deals with big app developers to stop them from competing with its Play Store, including an agreement to pay Activision Blizzard about $360 million (roughly Rs. 2,941 crore) over three years, according to a court filing on Thursday.Google also agreed in 2020 to pay Tencent Holdings's Riot Games unit, which makes League of Legends, about $30 million (roughly Rs. 245 crore) over one year, the filing stated.The financial details emerged in a newly unredacted copy of a lawsuit that…

Photo: Linda Codega/io9Earlier in the week, the news broke that South Korean illustrator Kim Jung Gi passed away at the age of 47. Kim, according to his US agent, had experienced chest pains in France as he was preparing to take a flight to New York, and died after being transported to a hospital.Kim was expected to have an Artist Alley table at New York Comic-Con this weekend prior to his passing. Over the weekend, the table has since become a memorial where fans have left flowers, drawn illustrations, and signed the…

Image: Netflix/Fortiche Productions2021 saw the debut of Arcane on Netflix, and proceeded to grab everyone’s attention. Whether you were a fan of League of Legends or going in completely blind, the CG series became a critical and fan darling that continued Netflix’s pretty good streak of video game adaptations. But if that weren’t enough, the show now has the prestige to back up its acclaim.During the Creative Arts Emmys on Saturday, Arcane took home the award for Best Animated Program, and is now the first streaming…

In glass-paneled conference rooms, members of the Shanghai-based esports team Rogue Warriors tap away at their phones as they train from 11am till late, occasionally breaking for food."I spend 15 of 24 hours a day playing video games," says 19-year-old Zhang Kaifeng who plays Tencent's online battle arena game "Arena of Valor" professionally, adding that the long hours are necessary to remain competitive.China is the world's biggest esports market with an estimated 5,000-plus teams, but the government's tough new rules…

Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) is getting characters, items, and locations from Riot Games' upcoming series Arcane through an update in the middle of November. BGMI publisher Krafton has partnered with game developer and publisher Riot Games to offer the exclusive in-game content. Arcane debuted on Krafton Video in China and Netflix globally earlier this month. The TV series is based on the League of Legends universe and follows the origin of the two existing League champions — set in the utopian Piltover and the…

Riot Games on Monday said it has agreed to pay $100 million to settle a 2018 gender-based discrimination class-action lawsuit with California state agencies and current and former women employees.The Tencent-owned company said it will pay $80 million (roughly Rs. 600 crore) to the members of the class-action suit, comprising all current and former full-time women employees and temporary agency contractors in California who worked from November 2014 to the present.An additional $20 million (roughly Rs. 150 crore) will be…

Social discussion forum Reddit on Thursday announced Blockchain-backed collectible avatars or non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that will soon be available for purchase on the platform.Designed by visual artists, new, limited-edition Collectible Avatars will soon be available for purchase in the 'Reddit Avatar Builder', with proceeds going to artists who design them."About two years ago, we launched a new and improved Avatar Builder, allowing anyone to generate and customize their own personal avatar - a unique way to display…