‘Game of Thrones’ In League With The ‘League of Legends’

‘Game of Thrones‘ (GoT) wants to play with ‘League of Legends,’ according to [a]listdaily.com. HBO made a call to the Santa Monica, CA – based game studio in order to connect with the huge eSports fan base that ‘League of Legends’ has around the world. ‘League of Legends’ is Riot Games’ popular multi-player online battle arena, or MOBA.

The cable network kicked off a three-week promotional program on Saturday (March 22nd) meant to promote season four of ‘Game of Thrones’, which will premier on April 6th. Dustin Beck, the vice president of eSports and merchandising at Riot Games, stated that through advertising with Riot Games, television shows such as GoT would gain a more effective means of reaching a new demographic. He believes that the connection between ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘League of Legends’ should allow for a smooth transition of ‘Game of Thrones’ elements into the game.

And why did HBO decide to connect with Riot Games? The paid cable network’s reasoning was that there could be an overlap between Riot Games players and fans of the show, ‘Game of Thrones’ and that advertising with Riot Games would be a good way to reach a new demographic with a different media. They wouldn’t be wrong there. The ‘League of Legends’ game has over 67 million players, according to Guardian Lliberty Voice. To say the least, that would be a large increase in exposure for the next season of GoT.

Over the next three weeks HBO will gain marketing assets such as logo bugs and Website takeovers. Riot Games is currently working with the network team to create a mash-up trailer of ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘League of Legends.’ For now, the logo for season four of GoT will be shown during the League Championship Series (LCS) until the season begins in April.

The new relationship between HBO and Riot Games is a mutually beneficial relationship. Not only will both companies earn a profit from the alliance, but the crossover between ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘League of Legends’ could bring up future sponsorship opportunities and in-game skin parallels. ‘League of Legend’ players might also get additional content because of the connection and ‘Game of Thrones’ fans will get an awesome treat when the crossover is created and released.