See how much Riot spent on Arcane’s production and promotion.
Arcane's budget has exceeded that of any other animated show ever made. This is not surprising, given how well-rounded the story is and how much effort Fortiche Production put into the animation. The show is so good that it doesn't owe anything to popular Japanese anime such as Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer, which offers excellent fighting scenes. Without further ado, here's how much Riot Games spent making Arcane.
How much did Arcane cost?
Riot Games spent "approximately $250 million" to produce and promote the 18 episodes of Arcane, according to a report by Variety on Nov. 7.
- Riot spent $80 million to produce Arcane Season 1
- Arcane Season 2 was even more expensive and cost $100 million
- Riot splashed $60 million to promote the first season of Arcane
Sources told Variety that Riot's inexperience in entertainment production and the high ambitions set for Arcane led the company to spend this much, in addition to delayed script deliveries throughout Season 2. Only a fraction of Season 2's story was written when Riot and Fortiche started producing it.
This makes sense, after all, it took Riot six years to make Arcane Season 1, according to its own CEO Nicolo Laurent. Arcane Season 2 came out three years after Season 1 aired on Netflix.
Arcane's budget won't go beyond $250 million as fans won't get a third season.
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Will Riot make a profit with Arcane?
It's very unlikely that Arcane will turn a profit for Riot, according to Variety. Despite this, it will live forever in the fans' hearts.
Netflix paid Riot a $3 million fee for each episode of Arcane to distribute it worldwide. The only country Netflix doesn't broadcast Arcane is China, whose rights are owned by Riot's parent company Tencent. The Chinese company pays Riot the same fee as Netflix.
Riot will try to recoup the deficit caused by Arcane with other revenue streams, says Variety.
"All sorts of ancillary revenue streams including skin sales and merchandise that weren’t available during the first season of Arcane will attempt to help recoup the deficit in Season 2, but breaking even is seen as the best-case scenario," according to Variety.
Although this isn't good for Riot's finances, Arcane definitely left its mark on the entertainment industry. The animated series based on League of Legends was the no. 1 show on Netflix in November 2021 and Season 2 already dethroned any other show on Netflix in over 60 countries, according to FlixPatrol.
That's all for now. Stay tuned to esports.gg for more Arcane content.
