Key Points:

  • American video game developer, Riot Games has confirmed that it has acquired Wargaming studio in Sydney
  • The move will enable the popular game developer to accelerate live development in Australia
  • Riot’s latest Australian operation will aid the development of Valorant, League of Legends, and other tech in the gaming sphere. 

Riot Games, the creators of League of Legends, announced the acquisition of Wargaming Sydney last Tuesday. The studio will be called Riot Sydney from today. The studio has a reputation for being the “worldwide development powerhouse” and a spotless track record of producing some of the most popular gaming titles in the world. In addition, the studio has also played a key role in the development of prototypes for new game features, console ports, and add-ons. 

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Hype around Wargaming Sydney studio

The studio was built in 2002 and was known as BigWorld Technology back then. Over time, it garnered immense popularity after creating the BigWorld toolset that is used in over 30 online games and MMOs. 

In 2012, Wargaming entered the fray and acquired BigWorldTechnology. Soon after acquiring the studio, Wargaming started focusing on improving the company’s military MMOs including World of Warships, World of Tanks, and World of Warplanes. 

After Riot Games completes the acquisition, the studio will be renamed Riot Sydney. The studio will continue to aid the development of Riot tech teams, Valorant, and League of Legends. 

Marc Merrill, co-founder and President, of Riot Games, said that the company is excited to onboard the talented set of teams and developers at Riot. He said that people who were fortunate enough to work with Wargaming Sydney in the past are not only confident about the tech they have created over the past few years, but also the team who have built it. He further stated that Naresh Hirani, Head of Development, Riot Sydney and other dev teams in the studio have shared a rich history of working together. He also said that the move will complement Riot’s ability to provide value to gamers and the Riot team is excited to collaborate with the entire team. 

More from Riot on the acquisition

 According to Riot, the studio is one of Australia’s largest development studios. Riot did not disclose the number of staff, although Wargaming Sydney joined Australia’s Interactive Games and Entertainment Association in 2019 and was reported to be “home to around 100 Riot devs”. 

It represents a modest portion of Wargaming’s workforce, which, according to LinkedIn, has a total strength of over 5,500 people employed across almost a dozen studios globally. However, it’s a noteworthy acquisition for Riot, which is also working on other projects besides maintaining and expanding not just one but two vital live games.

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Feature Image Source: Riot Games