11 years after creating ‘League of Legends,’ Riot is making a new game

The cofounders are stepping down from management to create new IPs.

The two founders of Riot Games announced that they're handing off the management of League of Legends to other administrators so they can make a new game -- which will end up being the publisher's second big video game release in 11 years of operation. Brandon "Ryze" Beck and Marc "Tryndamere" Merrill created Riot in 2006 to develop their only title, which has become a wildly successful gaming juggernaut dominating the MOBA genre. Now, they're handing over the leadership reins so they can make new titles that will 'finally put the "s" in Riot Games,' as they put it in their joint statement.

In order to do that, they're handing over company operations to Riot CFO Dylan Jadeja, Scott Gelb (CTO), and Nicolo Laurent (President). That leaves Ryze and Tryndamere free to develop new, as-yet-undefined titles for the publisher, which has produced a tabletop and several small games, but no AAA tentpoles beyond League of Legends. It'll certainly take the pressure off their shoulders from running the blockbuster title, which sports 100 million players worldwide which continues to redefine the esports world.