Riot Games was developing a potential Twitch competitor before layoffs hit last week.
Along with laying off 530 employees, around 11% of its total staff, Riot stopped development of “Ren,” aka “Riot’s Esports Network,” which was one of various “watch platform ideas” it was testing, Riot president of esports John Needham told Bloomberg.
Riot had hoped Ren would rival Twitch, which also just cut 500 people in its third round of layoffs in 12 months.
Riot planned to integrate its games—like marquee titles League of Legends and Valorant, which are consistently two of the top 10 most-watched games on Twitch—into the streamer “so that players could receive bonuses for watching or purchase in-game items,” per Bloomberg.
Ren’s development reportedly stemmed from Riot Games’ 2021 acquisition of tech startup Kanga. At the time, Riot said the newly acquired Kanga team would focus on developing digital fandom features and experiences. It’s not clear...
Along with laying off 530 employees, around 11% of its total staff, Riot stopped development of “Ren,” aka “Riot’s Esports Network,” which was one of various “watch platform ideas” it was testing, Riot president of esports John Needham told Bloomberg.
Riot had hoped Ren would rival Twitch, which also just cut 500 people in its third round of layoffs in 12 months.
Riot planned to integrate its games—like marquee titles League of Legends and Valorant, which are consistently two of the top 10 most-watched games on Twitch—into the streamer “so that players could receive bonuses for watching or purchase in-game items,” per Bloomberg.
Ren’s development reportedly stemmed from Riot Games’ 2021 acquisition of tech startup Kanga. At the time, Riot said the newly acquired Kanga team would focus on developing digital fandom features and experiences. It’s not clear...
- 1/29/2024
- by James Hale
- Tubefilter.com
Riot Games on Thursday revealed the promotion of gaming executive John Needham to president of its esports division.
Needham, who served for the last two years as global head of esports and held a managing director position prior to that, will report to CEO Nicolo Laurent. He will be responsible for overseeing League of Legends esports as well as the Valorant champions tour and other game titles.
“As we head into 2022, we’re placing our biggest bets yet on esports to deliver the most connected, immersive experiences for the millions of players worldwide who love our games,” said Laurent in a ...
Needham, who served for the last two years as global head of esports and held a managing director position prior to that, will report to CEO Nicolo Laurent. He will be responsible for overseeing League of Legends esports as well as the Valorant champions tour and other game titles.
“As we head into 2022, we’re placing our biggest bets yet on esports to deliver the most connected, immersive experiences for the millions of players worldwide who love our games,” said Laurent in a ...
- 11/18/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Riot Games on Thursday revealed the promotion of gaming executive John Needham to president of its esports division.
Needham, who served for the last two years as global head of esports and held a managing director position prior to that, will report to CEO Nicolo Laurent. He will be responsible for overseeing League of Legends esports as well as the Valorant champions tour and other game titles.
“As we head into 2022, we’re placing our biggest bets yet on esports to deliver the most connected, immersive experiences for the millions of players worldwide who love our games,” said Laurent in a ...
Needham, who served for the last two years as global head of esports and held a managing director position prior to that, will report to CEO Nicolo Laurent. He will be responsible for overseeing League of Legends esports as well as the Valorant champions tour and other game titles.
“As we head into 2022, we’re placing our biggest bets yet on esports to deliver the most connected, immersive experiences for the millions of players worldwide who love our games,” said Laurent in a ...
- 11/18/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Riot Games has promoted Naz Aletaha, the company’s head of global esports partnerships and business development, to lead its League of Legends esports division.
As the global head of League of Legends esports, Aletaha will oversee the 12 regional leagues and its international events, including the League of Legends World Championship, which began on Tuesday morning.
“Naz’s impact at Riot Games has been impressive for a decade, with eight of those years driving the esports business development efforts as a member of our leadership team,” John Needham, Riot Games’ global head of esports, said in a statement. “Her tireless efforts, business acumen, and passion for ...
As the global head of League of Legends esports, Aletaha will oversee the 12 regional leagues and its international events, including the League of Legends World Championship, which began on Tuesday morning.
“Naz’s impact at Riot Games has been impressive for a decade, with eight of those years driving the esports business development efforts as a member of our leadership team,” John Needham, Riot Games’ global head of esports, said in a statement. “Her tireless efforts, business acumen, and passion for ...
- 10/5/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Riot Games has promoted Naz Aletaha, the company’s head of global esports partnerships and business development, to lead its League of Legends esports division.
As the global head of League of Legends esports, Aletaha will oversee the 12 regional leagues and its international events, including the League of Legends World Championship, which began on Tuesday morning.
“Naz’s impact at Riot Games has been impressive for a decade, with eight of those years driving the esports business development efforts as a member of our leadership team,” John Needham, Riot Games’ global head of esports, said in a statement. “Her tireless efforts, business acumen, and passion for ...
As the global head of League of Legends esports, Aletaha will oversee the 12 regional leagues and its international events, including the League of Legends World Championship, which began on Tuesday morning.
“Naz’s impact at Riot Games has been impressive for a decade, with eight of those years driving the esports business development efforts as a member of our leadership team,” John Needham, Riot Games’ global head of esports, said in a statement. “Her tireless efforts, business acumen, and passion for ...
- 10/5/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Fable Legends, Lionhead’s upcoming installment in the long-running RPG franchise, will mark a significant departure for the series, as the upcoming title will be the studio’s first free-to-play release.
The company confirmed the news to Eurogamer earlier today, and divulged some new information relating to the core gameplay lurking beneath its fantastical aesthetic. As we already learned following its E3 debut last year, Legends bears some semblance to Evolve in that it will sport a four-versus-one dynamic, with the fifth player taking control of the pantomime villain from a top-down perspective.
But what about this new-fangled business model? Well, in taking inspiration from Riot Games’ approach to League of Legends, Lionhead plans to offer players the choice to play as four different heroes from day one, with plans to rotate these playable characters after a period of two weeks. However, should fans take a liking to a particular character,...
The company confirmed the news to Eurogamer earlier today, and divulged some new information relating to the core gameplay lurking beneath its fantastical aesthetic. As we already learned following its E3 debut last year, Legends bears some semblance to Evolve in that it will sport a four-versus-one dynamic, with the fifth player taking control of the pantomime villain from a top-down perspective.
But what about this new-fangled business model? Well, in taking inspiration from Riot Games’ approach to League of Legends, Lionhead plans to offer players the choice to play as four different heroes from day one, with plans to rotate these playable characters after a period of two weeks. However, should fans take a liking to a particular character,...
- 2/26/2015
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
Anderson Productions has launched a Kickstarter campaign today to fund production of a pilot for Gerry Anderson’s FireStorm, a new adventure series in the tradition of the original Anderson series like Thunderbirds and Stingray. Only hours after its start, the campaign has already been 25% funded of its initial goal.
Once funded, the pilot will be filmed in “Ultramationation”, described as a new hybrid process “using a combination of puppetry, practical effects, physical props and sets, and model miniatures”. Fans of iconic Gerry Anderson shows like Space: 1999, Stingray, Captain Scarlet, UFO and Thunderbirds will be able to back the project to help fund the pilot episode in return for special limited edition rewards from props and collector edition DVDs, to set visits and film credits.
Originally developed by Gerry and his business partner John Needham, the project originally became a Japanese animated series produced in 2003. The new series starts from scratch,...
Once funded, the pilot will be filmed in “Ultramationation”, described as a new hybrid process “using a combination of puppetry, practical effects, physical props and sets, and model miniatures”. Fans of iconic Gerry Anderson shows like Space: 1999, Stingray, Captain Scarlet, UFO and Thunderbirds will be able to back the project to help fund the pilot episode in return for special limited edition rewards from props and collector edition DVDs, to set visits and film credits.
Originally developed by Gerry and his business partner John Needham, the project originally became a Japanese animated series produced in 2003. The new series starts from scratch,...
- 9/30/2014
- by Vinnie Bartilucci
- Comicmix.com
"Champions Online" has had a year to see what works and what doesn't work in its current system, but Cryptic Studios has decided to starting offering a new free option for unsubscribed players in 2011. "Dungeons and Dragons Online" and "Lord of the Rings Online" have also chosen such paths, so Cryptic's definitely not venturing into unexplored territory. Still, it will mean new choices for the Mmo's customers.
"Transitioning 'Champions Online' to the free-to-play model is a great opportunity to reach a whole new audience of PC gamers that view subscription fees as a barrier to entry," Cryptic Studios CEO John Needham said in a press release. "By taking care of our current subscription-based community and welcoming the addition of new players through free-to-play, 'Champions Online' is poised to build upon its success and to establish a new leadership position as the first free-to-play superhero Mmo."
And don't go panicking if...
"Transitioning 'Champions Online' to the free-to-play model is a great opportunity to reach a whole new audience of PC gamers that view subscription fees as a barrier to entry," Cryptic Studios CEO John Needham said in a press release. "By taking care of our current subscription-based community and welcoming the addition of new players through free-to-play, 'Champions Online' is poised to build upon its success and to establish a new leadership position as the first free-to-play superhero Mmo."
And don't go panicking if...
- 10/26/2010
- by Brian Warmoth
- MTV Multiplayer
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