Riot Games considers premium titles as co-founder Marc Merrill says 'not every game needs to be infinite'

At PAX West, commemorating Riot's 20-year anniversary, Chief Product Officer Marc Merrill hinted at the company's future direction. While he described their pursuit of a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) as "the Grail," sharp observers noted his admission that there is no strategic imperative for every new title to be free-to-play. Merrill stated clearly: "We're working on some stuff that isn't [free-to-play]." He emphasized that whatever business model the studio adopts must align with the specific vision of the game itself.

This potential pivot marks a significant departure from Riot's history. The company built its massive war chest on a library of free-to-play hits like League of Legends and Valorant, which monetize through optional cosmetics rather than upfront costs. Merrill recalled that when he and co-founder Brandon Beck sought funding before the studio's launch in 2006, publishers and venture capital firms told them that making a free game was "the dumbest thing" they'd ever heard. The industry has since normalized this approach, but the competitive landscape is now exceptionally challenging.

In a follow-up interview, Merrill elaborated on why the company might return to the single-purchase model: "Not every game needs to be infinite." He explained that while free-to-play works well for long-term engaging games with optional cosmetics, it can create design challenges that impact the integrity of the experience in other genres. The recent failure of their fighting game 2XKO serves as a cautionary tale; Merrill noted that unless developers make something "incredible," they face stiff competition not just from hundreds of weekly launches, but from the near-infinite amount of content on social media fighting for attention.

The company is also distinguishing these potential new premium titles from those published under the Riot Forge banner. Riot technically isn't new to the world of premium games, having published a number of titles under that label before winding down the initiative in 2024 alongside significant layoffs. However, those previous games were developed in partnership with external studios like Digital Sun, Airship Syndicate, and Double Stallion, not by Riot itself.

Merrill explained that Riot Forge was established "to go tell stories to acquire new customers." He cited Arcane as a prime example of this strategy's effectiveness, noting that the show wasn't made specifically to acquire players but was an outcome of doing something great. The company's current view is that the world needs "things that are really excellent, really differentiating," because players already have an enormous amount of content to choose from.

"We want to focus our efforts on those very-difficult-to-achieve-things because we think, again, that the market does such a good job of meeting so many other needs," Merrill said. While all eyes are on the ambitious MMORPG project described as "the Grail," it will be worth watching if smaller premium games become a major part of League of Legends maker's strategy moving forward.