Jordan Bevan
What is League of Legends?
League of Legends (LoL) is a free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game developed and published by Riot Games. Released on October 27, 2009, the game features two teams of five players competing to destroy the opposing team’s Nexus while defending their own base.
League of Legends has become one of the most established competitive multiplayer games, supported by regular gameplay updates, new champions, seasonal content, and an international esports ecosystem.
More than 16 years after its launch, League of Legends continues to attract a substantial global audience. Although Riot Games does not publicly disclose an updated 2026 monthly active player count for the PC game, its historical audience figures and esports viewership demonstrate the franchise’s continued reach.
The 2025 League of Legends World Championship attracted approximately 6.75 million peak concurrent viewers, making it one of the most-watched esports tournaments ever recorded.
League of Legends also serves as the foundation for several Riot Games titles, including the mobile MOBA League of Legends: Wild Rift and the strategy game Teamfight Tactics.
- League of Legends Developer: Riot Games
- League of Legends Publisher: Riot Games
- League of Legends Release Date: October 27, 2009
- Genre: Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA)
- Platforms: Windows, macOS
- Business Model: Free-to-play with in-game purchases
Also Read: Top Games Like League of Legends
What is Wild Rift?
League of Legends: Wild Rift is a free-to-play mobile MOBA developed and published by Riot Games. The game began its regional rollout on October 27, 2020, bringing the League of Legends experience to Android and iOS with controls and gameplay adapted for mobile devices.
Wild Rift features five-versus-five matches, a roster of champions from the League of Legends universe, competitive ranked modes, and recurring content updates.
Unlike the PC version, Wild Rift was designed specifically for touchscreen gameplay, with a modified map, shorter match durations, and a separate progression system.
Since its launch, Wild Rift has generated more than $1 billion in cumulative mobile player spending, according to previously reported market intelligence estimates. The game remains one of Riot Games’ major mobile titles alongside Teamfight Tactics.
- Wild Rift Developer: Riot Games
- Wild Rift Publisher: Riot Games
- League of Legends Wild Rift Release Date: October 27, 2020
- Genre: Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA)
- Platforms: Android, iOS
- Business Model: Free-to-play with in-app purchases
League of Legends User Stats
- As of 2025, League of Legends has 120 million monthly active players, according to League Feed.
| Year | LoL Monthly Active Users |
| 2025 | 120 million |
| 2024 | 131 million |
| 2023 | 151 million |
| 2022 | 180 million |
| 2020 | 115 million |
| 2018 | 75 million |
| 2017 | 100 million |
| 2014 | 65 million |
| 2012 | 35 million |
- The League of Legends World Championship 2025 reached 6,752,585 peak concurrent viewers during the final between T1 and KT Rolster, according to Esports Charts data.
- The 2025 World Championship generated approximately 132.9 million hours watched, based on Esports Charts’ standardized viewership data. The figure excludes viewership from Chinese streaming platforms.
- The 2025 LCK Season accumulated more than 155 million hours watched, making it the most-watched esports tournament or league competition of 2025 by total viewing hours, according to Esports Charts.
- In July 2026, people watched 81.8 million hours of League of Legends gameplay on Twitch.
League of Legends World Championship Viewership Statistics
League of Legends continues to maintain one of the largest competitive gaming audiences globally. Its annual World Championship regularly attracts millions of simultaneous viewers.
| Year | Peak Concurrent Viewers |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 6.75 million |
| 2024 | 6.86 million |
| 2023 | 6.40 million |
| 2022 | 5.15 million |
| 2021 | 4.02 million |
Source: Esports Charts. Figures are rounded and generally exclude viewership on Chinese streaming platforms.
- The 2025 World Championship recorded a peak audience of approximately 6.75 million viewers, slightly below the 6.86 million peak achieved in 2024.
- The tournament’s total viewing hours also declined from approximately 185.9 million in 2024 to 132.9 million in 2025, according to Esports Charts. Differences in tournament duration, competition format, and broadcast scheduling can affect year-over-year comparisons.
- Despite the decline in total hours watched, the 2025 final remained among the most-watched esports broadcasts in history.
League of Legends Revenue Stats
| Year | League of Legends Revenue |
| 2022 | $1.8 billion |
| 2021 | $1.63 billion |
| 2020 | $1.75 billion |
| 2019 | $1.5 billion |
| 2018 | $1.4 billion |
| 2017 | $2.1 billion |
| 2016 | $1.8 billion |
| 2015 | $1.63 billion |
- As of July 2022, Riot Games’ mobile portfolio has accumulated $828 million.
- League of Legends generated $1.75 billion in revenue worldwide in 2020, becoming one of the top 10 revenue-generating free-to-play titles in 2020.
Wild Rift Revenue Stats (2025)
- In June 2025, LoL: Wild Rift generated around $5.96 million in in-app purchase revenues.
- As of August 2023, League of Legends: Wild Rift surpassed $ 1 billion in lifetime player spending, making it the 4th highest-grossing action MOBA game.
- As of September 2022, Wild Rift generated more than $750 million in global player spending, with China ranking as the top revenue generator for the game. (Gamesindustry.biz)
- As of July 2022, League of Legends: Wild Rift surpassed $500 million in global player spending. The game ranked as the #2 revenue-generating MOBA in the first half of 2022, accumulating approximately $218 million. It is Riot Game’s third and most successful foray into the mobile industry. (Sensor Tower)
- As of July 2021, League of Legends: Wild Rift generated $64.7 million in global lifetime player spending, accounting for close to 60% of Riot’s mobile revenue.
Wild Rift User Stats (2025)
- As of August 2023, Wild Rift generated 111 million lifetime downloads across the App Store and Google Play.
- In June 2025, League of Legends Wild Rift generated around 680 thousand app downloads worldwide across the App Store and Google Play.
- In June 2025, LoL: Wild Rift was among the most downloaded MOBA games worldwide, with more than 680 thousands installs.
Riot Games Revenue
- The revenue from Riot Games’ three mobile games (League of Legends: Wild Rift, Teamfight Tactics, and Legends of Runeterra) hit a new high in Q2 2021, generating a combined $36.5 million, up more than 50% from Q1 2021, and representing a 3.4 times increase year-over-year.
- According to Sensor Tower, Riot Games’ three mobile titles surpassed $100 million in combined player spending globally from the App Store and Google Play in July 2021.
Comments
Loading…