League of Legends co-creator responds to report that Arcane was a "financial miss," says "people think we make things like Arcane to sell skins, when in reality we sell skins to make things like Arcane"

According to a new report, Arcane recouped less than half of its budget from payments to air its 18 episodes, but a Riot co-founder says the show is about more than just money.

Bloomberg's report claims Arcane was a "financial miss" and Riot "didn’t have a robust plan to recoup the cost of the show before it launched." Executive producer Paul Bellezza tells Bloomberg the show cost $250 to produce and market, but that figure has been disputed.

The report states Netflix paid $3 million per episode, and Tencent also paid $3 million for distribution rights to the show in China. This would mean the show only directly made $108 million, less than half the contested budget.

Riot co-founder Marc Merrill took to Reddit to defend the show, writing: "People who look at the world through a short term, transactional, cynical lens, really struggle to understand Riot [...] These people think we make things like Arcane to sell skins, when in reality we sell skins to make things like Arcane."

The showrunners have frequently talked up the artistry of the show, and how proud they were to be able to give those working on it the time to make it something great. Considering all the hidden details in Arcane, I'd say it was money well spent.

"Riot is a mission driven company where Rioters are constantly striving to make it better to be a player," Merill continues. "That is why we have successfully done that over and over again across multiple games and now multiple businesses / mediums - games, sports, music & animation. Do we get everything right? Nope. But we are not focused on the short term extraction of profits - we are focused on delivering exceptional value to our audience over the long term, again and again and again."

The writers of Arcane took some liberties with the game's lore to make their story work better for the TV, but our own League of Legends fans simply don't mind, the show is just that good. What works in one medium doesn't always work in another, and bending the rules to make a better piece of art.

"To be clear, Arcane crushed for players and so it crushed for us," Merill writes. 

Arcane was a massive success by all fan and critic measures. Our review calls it "One of the greatest video game adaptations of all time." The hit-animated show ran for two seasons and I saw tons of people online saying they were going to try League of Legends, the game it's based on. They're in for a real shock.

If you've finished Arcane and are looking for your next obsession, check out the best TV shows of 2024 that you can catch up on over the holidays.