League of Legends (LoL), sometimes known as League, is a multiplayer online battle arena video game created and distributed by Riot Games in 2009. Riot’s founders were inspired by Defense of the Ancients, a custom map for Warcraft III, and wanted to create a standalone game in the same genre. League has been free-to-play since its inception in October 2009, and it is monetized through character customization. The game is compatible with both Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X.
Two teams of five players compete in player-versus-player warfare, with each team occupying and defending half of the battlefield. Each of the ten players controls a “champion,” a character with unique skills and different playing styles. Champions gain power during a match by accumulating experience points, earning gold, and purchasing things in order to defeat the enemy side. A team wins in League’s primary mode, Summoner’s Rift, by pushing through to the enemy base and destroying their “Nexus,” a massive building within.
League of Legends has garnered mostly positive feedback, with critics praising the game’s accessibility, character designs, and production value. The game’s extended history has led to a critical reappraisal, with good reviews on the rise; yet, the unpleasant and abusive in-game conduct of its players, which has been criticized from the game’s inception, endures despite Riot’s efforts to address the issue. League’s popularity has resulted in tie-ins such as music videos, comic novels, short tales, and an animated series, Arcane, which peaked at eight million concurrent players in 2019. Its popularity has produced a number of spin-off video games, including a smartphone version, a digital collectible card game, and a turn-based role-playing game. The property is being turned into a massively multiplayer online role-playing game.
The game features an international competitive scene comprising 12 leagues and is frequently referred to as the world’s largest esport. The yearly League of Legends World Championship is the culmination of these domestic leagues. The 2019 event attracted over 100 million unique viewers, with a peak of 44 million concurrent watchers. Domestic and international events have been televised on Twitch, YouTube, Bilibili, and ESPN, a cable television sports channel.