How a Free Game Upended the Industry: Riot Games and League of Legends’ Unlikel

Back in 2009, when most studios were still making their money from up-front purchases or monthly subscriptions, two young founders with essentially zero game-dev pedigree—Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill—did something the industry called “insane.” They launched a game that cost nothing to play: League of Legends. Their pitch was radical for the time: you can become the best without spending a cent.

01 A Wild Idea Against the Grain

Around 2007, the market revolved around two dominant models: the subscription juggernauts led by World of Warcraft, and full-price console hits like Call of Duty. Development budgets were ballooning, big publishers held the keys, and small teams struggled to survive.

Beck and Merrill spotted a different future: free-to-play with paid cosmetics. To them, games weren’t one-off products; they were living services. That conviction came from watching player communities closely—what players truly wanted wasn’t an expensive ticket at the door, but a level playing field and a steady stream of new content.

02 Betting the Company with a Scrappy Crew

Riot’s beginnings were bare-bones. In 2006 the founders quit cushy jobs, moved into a repurposed workshop in San Francisco, and started building with a handful of interns. Their north star was Dota (originally a custom map for Warcraft III), but tension flared immediately: some early contributors wanted a faithful recreation; Beck and Merrill pushed for bold changes.

By 2008, four core team members walked out and the company teetered. Salvation came when a major West Coast tech investor—seeing the potential of this emerging MOBA genre—poured in funding and took a controlling stake, giving Riot the runway it desperately needed.

03 The 40-Champion Gauntlet

Then, another curveball. In 2009, IceFrog—Dota’s lead developer—teamed up with S2 Games to build Heroes of Newerth, boasting sharper visuals and gameplay closer to classic Dota. Outgunned, Riot made a gutsy call: double the launch roster from 20 to 40 champions in roughly six months.

The mostly-green team turned into a fire brigade. Through all-nighters and endless coffee, champions like Katarina, Blitzcrank, and Teemo took shape. League shipped—rough edges and all—with that 40-champ lineup, while Heroes of Newerth went with a traditional $30 box price.

What happened next shocked the pundits: free-to-play bulldozed the paywall. Players poured into League. HoN gradually faded to the margins.

04 Esports—and a Global Wave

Riot didn’t coast on early traction. In 2011, they did three things that reshaped the industry:

Launched a World Championship. The first prize pool was just $50,000, but it put MOBA esports on a global stage.

Went all-in on one game. For the next decade, Riot backed League alone, keeping it fresh with relentless updates.

Built a professional league system. In partnership with regional organizers, they stood up stable pro ecosystems in North America and Europe, where players could finally make a living on salary—not just prize money.

Those moves helped transform esports from a hobbyist scene into a bona fide professional sport—and cemented League of Legends as a worldwide cultural phenomenon.

05 How Free-to-Play Rewired the Business

Riot’s success wasn’t luck; it validated a new playbook:

Lower the barrier, grow the pie. Zero entry cost drives massive reach; optional skins monetize the fans who want to spend.

Play the long game. Live ops, seasonal content, events, and a thriving competitive scene stretch a game’s lifespan past the decade mark.

Fairness is the moat. No pay-for-power. By keeping purchases cosmetic, Riot safeguarded competitive integrity—now the gold standard for PvP titles.

The “Crazy” Answer That Worked

From a converted workshop to a global esports powerhouse, Riot’s story is, at its core, an outsider’s blueprint for upending an entrenched industry. Beck and Merrill cracked the door open with a free-to-play vision, then rebuilt the relationship between games and players through live service and esports. And it all started with two gamers chasing a simple dream: “Let’s make the game we want to play.”