RIOT GAMES has announced that they will be taking direct control of the publishing rights of League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics in Southeast Asia.
This breaks Garena's 12-year franchise over League of Legends.
The takeover will ensure that LoL and TFT players from Southeast Asia will have the same experience with other players from the other regions.
In their official announcement, Riot will be launching new League and TFT servers in SEA on January 2023. This is also the time when Garena servers would cease to operate. Prior to the launch of new servers, players will be given a chance to migrate their accounts beginning November 18, 2022.
For fans worried about the loss of their hard earned items, champions, RP, and cosmetics during the migration process, Riot assured them that they're all safe as long as players completed their migration before the relaunch.
Riot will be taking a more active approach in SEA
The decision to incorporate the SEA LoL and TFT scene is part of Riot's efforts in growing their brand in Southeast Asia. Riot even established their offices in key areas, including the Philippines.
"Our new structure in Asia Pacific will see us expand our efforts in countries we already publish in like Japan and India. In addition, we are also in the process of establishing new local offices in key countries including the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
"Players in these countries can look forward to having a dedicated Riot office focused purely on creating hyper-local experiences by tailoring our games to audiences in each country and the region as a whole."
Will this mean that more esports opportunities will arise in SEA? Here's what Riot has to say.
"Yes, as part of the transition Riot will continue to operate the Pacific Championship Series and will regain ownership and operations of the Vietnam Championship Series. We are thankful for Garena’s partnership in helping us grow the League esports ecosystem.
"This transition will help provide League pro teams and fans with the most exciting and entertaining esports experience possible. We will share more information about esports in the future."
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