Riot Games announces custom emotes for League of Legends esports teams

Riot Games, the company behind the MOBA game League of Legends, is set to launch new in-game emotes co-designed by professional teams from League of Legends‘ top-tier leagues.

A total of 75 emotes will be available through the in-game store and 30% of the gross revenue from emote sales will go directly to the teams that helped design the emotes, providing another revenue stream for organisations.

Riot Games already hinted at the inclusion of the emotes earlier this year. The emote set follow on from existinf emote team bundles that where created at MSI and Worlds. The decision to launch more esports-specific in-game items is part of a broader change to the League of Legends franchise business model intended to increase revenue for teams and decrease their reliance on sponsorships.

Every team competing in Riot’s major leagues has designed a single emote together with the game’s creators, for a total of 75 emotes ranging from team logos to champions and other game characters. The leagues included are the LCK, LPL, LEC, LCS, VCS, PCS, CBLOL and LLA.

The emotes will be officially available on August 27th and cost 350 RP, the game’s premium currency. Players can acquire RP with real-world currency, and the pricing varies by region. For example, in the NA region, 575 RP costs $4.99 (£3.89).